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Agence France-Presse

Not since Jimmy Carter, a Baptist who has taught Bible classes well into his 90s, has the United States had a president whose life is so entwined with his faith as Joe Biden.
A devout Catholic, the 78-year-old Biden is as apt to quote Scripture as he is his beloved Irish poets.
Just the second Catholic president in US history – John F. Kennedy was the first – Biden wears his faith on his sleeve. Literally.
Around his left wrist he often sports a rosary from the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico that his son Beau was wearing the day he died of brain cancer in 2015.
He frequently credits his working-class Irish Catholic roots with shaping his values on social and economic issues.
Joe Biden: biography, net worth, family tragedy and path to presidency
Biden rarely misses a Sunday mass when at home in Delaware, attending services at St Joseph on the Brandywine, a small, quaint church in an affluent suburb.
It is there that Biden’s parents are buried along with Beau. Also there are the graves of Biden’s first wife, Neilia, and their daughter Naomi, who were killed in a 1972 traffic accident.
Beau and his brother Hunter survived the crash.


Biden took the oath of office on January 20 as the 46th president of the United States with his left hand on a colossal 19th-century family Bible held by his wife, Jill.
His inauguration address included several biblical references and he paused his speech for a moment of silent prayer for the 400,000 people in the United States who have died of coronavirus.
Biden started his first full day at work in the White House by watching a virtual prayer service at the National Cathedral with Vice-President Kamala Harris.
Inside Joe Biden’s Oval Office: new rug, chair and no more Trump ‘Diet Coke button’
Biden made it clear from the outset that as president he will not hesitate to use the power of religion to help bridge the gaping chasm between Republicans and Democrats left by Donald Trump’s attempts to subvert the presidential election.
He invited congressional leaders – including top Republicans – to attend services at St Matthew’s Cathedral, a Catholic Church in Washington, on the morning of his inauguration.

Mitch McConnell and Kevin McCarthy, respective Republican leaders in the Senate and House, both accepted the invitation instead of attending departure ceremonies for Trump.
The political divide is not the only one Biden faces as he takes office.
His inauguration was met with mixed messages from Pope Francis and the president of the US Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB).
Celebrating America, A-listers bring star power to Joe Biden inauguration
Francis, in a message warmly congratulating Biden, expressed hope that his decisions “will be guided by a concern for building a society marked by authentic justice and freedom”.
Recognising that Biden has his work cut out for him, the pontiff wished him success in fostering “understanding, reconciliation and peace within the United States”.
Jose Gomez, Archbishop of Los Angeles and president of the USCCB, said he was inspired by how Biden’s faith has “brought him solace in times of darkness and tragedy”.

“He is our first president in 60 years to profess the Catholic faith,” Gomez said in a statement.
“In a time of growing and aggressive secularism in American culture, when religious believers face many challenges, it will be refreshing to engage with a president who clearly understands, in a deep and personal way, the importance of religious faith and institutions,” he said.
Gomez stressed, however, that the USCCB has differences of opinion with Biden on several issues important to the Church, particularly abortion.
Biden supports the landmark 1973 US Supreme Court decision which affirmed a woman’s right to an abortion – a position that led most evangelical Christians to support the anti-abortion Trump in the November election along with nearly 50 per cent of Catholics.
“Our new president has pledged to pursue certain policies that would advance moral evils and threaten human life and dignity, most seriously in the areas of abortion, contraception, marriage and gender,” Gomez said.
The USCCB president’s statement was in sharp contrast to that of the Pope and came under fire from some other prominent figures in the US Catholic Church.
The archbishop of Chicago, Cardinal Blase Cupich, called it “ill-considered” and a “surprise to many bishops”.


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Joe Biden

Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, wears his faith on his sleeve

Joe Biden frequently credits his working-class Irish Catholic roots with shaping his values on social and economic issues. File photo: AP

US President-elect Joe Biden leaves St. Joseph on the Brandywine Roman Catholic Church on January 16, 2021 in Wilmington, Delaware. - President-elect Joe Biden will sign executive orders on Inauguration Day next week to address the pandemic, the ailing US economy, climate change and racial injustice in America, a senior aide said Saturday. (Photo by Angela Weiss / AFP)

US President Joe Biden (2nd R)and First Lady Jill Biden (R), with Vice President Kamala Harris (2nd L) and her husband, Second Gentleman Doug Emhoff, listen to the virtual Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service hosted by the Washington National Cathedral, in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, DC, on January 21, 2021. (Photo by MANDEL NGAN / AFP)

Joe Biden: biography, net worth, family tragedy and path to presidency

Joe Biden on the campaign trail in Florida. File photo: AFP

In this image obtained from the official website of US Senator Joseph Biden, shows the Senator (C) with his sons Beau (L) and Hunter and his future wife Jill in an undated photo. Democratic White House hopeful Barack Obama on August 23, 2008 officially announced that he has chosen Senator Joseph Biden as his vice presidential pick. AFP PHOTO/HO = GETTY OUT = (Photo by Senator Joseph Biden / AFP)

Democratic presidential candidate former Vice President Joe Biden arrives to speak at a rally at Belle Isle Casino in Detroit, Mich., Saturday, Oct. 31, 2020, which former President Barack Obama also attended. (AP Photo/Andrew Harnik)

The wife and infant daughter of Senator-elect Joe Biden (D-Del), were killed on December 18, 1972 in a traffic accident in nearby Hockessin, Delaware. Biden's two other children were seriously hurt in the wreck but later made full recoveries. At left is Senator Biden and his wife Nealia during a recent campaign tour. At right is their 16-month-old daughter Amy, who was also killed in the accident.

(FILES) In this file photo former US Vice President Joe Biden (R) talks with his son, US Army Capt. Beau Biden (L) at Camp Victory on the outskirts of Baghdad on July 4, 2009. - As men in their 70s, both Donald Trump and Joe Biden have large extended families -- some members of which are the subject of scalding controversy, while others live less in the spotlight. Examining the two competing "first families" of the US election reveals the presidential candidates' differing life stories, and how their wives and children are involved in the battle for the White House. (Photo by KHALID MOHAMMED / AFP)

WILMINGTON, DELAWARE - AUGUST 20: : Democratic presidential nominee Joe Biden appears oh stage with his wife Dr. Jill Biden after delivering his acceptance speech on the fourth night of the Democratic National Convention from the Chase Center on August 20, 2020 in Wilmington, Delaware. The convention, which was once expected to draw 50,000 people to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, is now taking place virtually due to the coronavirus pandemic. Win McNamee/Getty Images/AFP

US Senator Joseph Biden, D-Del., announces on September 23, 1987 that he is withdrawing from the race for the 1988 Democratic presidential nomination, as his wife Jill grasps his arm (R). (Photo by Jerome DELAY / AFP)

Inside Joe Biden’s Oval Office: new rug, chair and no more Trump ‘Diet Coke button’

The Oval Office of the White House has been redecorated. Photo: AP

TOPSHOT - US President Joe Biden sits in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington, DC, after being sworn in at the US Capitol on January 20, 2021. - US President Joe Biden signed a raft of executive orders to launch his administration, including a decision to rejoin the Paris climate accord. The orders were aimed at reversing decisions by his predecessor, reversing the process of leaving the World Health Organization, ending the ban on entries from mostly Muslim-majority countries, bolstering environmental protections and strengthening the fight against Covid-19. (Photo by Jim WATSON / AFP)

A general view shows the Oval Office as decorated for newly-inaugurated President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

A bust of Mexican American labor leader Cesar Chavez joins family photos in the Oval Office, newly decorated for U.S. President Joe Biden at the White House in Washington, U.S. January 21, 2021. REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst NO RESALES. NO ARCHIVES.

Celebrating America, A-listers bring star power to Joe Biden inauguration

Lady Gaga performs the US national anthem at the inauguration of Joe Biden. Photo: EPA

In this image from video, Tom Hanks speaks during the Celebrating America event on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, following the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. (Biden Inaugural Committee via AP)

In this image from video, Bruce Springsteen performs during the Celebrating America event on Wednesday, Jan. 20, 2021, following the inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th president of the United States. (Biden Inaugural Committee via AP)

Lady Gaga arrives to sing the US national anthem at the US Capitol in Washington. Photo: AP

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Joe Biden is the second Catholic president in US history after JFK
Biden rarely misses a Sunday mass when at home in Delaware



Joe Biden is the second Catholic president in US history after John F. Kennedy


Joe Biden inauguration

Religion

Joe Biden, a devout Catholic, wears his faith on his sleeve

.css-1mniedq{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;} Joe Biden is the second Catholic president in US history after JFK Biden rarely misses a Sunday mass when at home in Delaware

Joe Biden is the second Catholic president in US history after JFK

Biden rarely misses a Sunday mass when at home in Delaware