Post by Admin on Dec 31, 2022 16:23:24 GMT -4
Former Pope Benedict XVI, who died on Saturday at age 95, met with two sitting US presidents and a future American president during his time as leader of the Catholic Church.
Then-Vice President Joe Biden, who later became the second Catholic to serve as president of the United States, met with Pope Benedict at the Vatican in 2011.
“It was like going back to theology class,” Biden told America, a Jesuit publication, of his meeting. “And by the way, he wasn’t judgmental. He was open. I came away enlivened from the discussion.”
Pope Benedict met with his first sitting president when he traveled to the US on a papal visit to the country in April 2008. President George W. Bush took the rare step of meeting the pontiff when his plane arrived at Joint Base Andrews, and he later welcomed Pope Benedict to the White House with an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn where thousands gathered and sang “Happy Birthday” to the pope on his 81st birthday.
Later that year, Bush visited the pontiff at the Vatican, where the two men strolled through the Vatican Gardens and met privately for roughly a half-hour.
In 2009, President Barack Obama met with Pope Benedict for 30 minutes at the Vatican. Officials at the time said their meeting included discussions on addressing poverty and the Middle East as well as issues like abortion and stem cell research.
