President Joe Biden arrived at the Vatican on Friday to meet with Pope Francis for the first time in Italy where they plan to discuss the COVID-19 pandemic, the climate emergency and poverty.
The president has traveled to Rome to participate in the G20 leaders' summit, which will take place this weekend.
Biden left Villa Taverna, the residence of the United States ambassador in Rome, where the American delegation is staying, and arrived at the Vatican's Saint Damaso courtyard in the pontifical palace at 9:59 a.m. (local time) amid strong security measures and with a presidential procession made up of more than 80 cars.
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"It's good to be back," Biden declared as he shook hands with one of the papal ushers who lined the courtyard.
"I am Jill's husband," he told another before being ushered into the frescoed Apostolic Palace and taken to the Pope's private library.
The president, who was already able to greet the pope three times when he was vice president, arrived accompanied by his wife, Jill.
In the courtyard of San Dámaso, the American delegation received the honors of a picket line from the Swiss Guard and Biden and his wife were received by the regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical House, Leonardo Sapienza, who will accompany them on a tour of the corridors loaded with frescoes until reaching the Second Lodge, where the pontifical apartment is located.
Although Francisco no longer lives in this area of the apostolic palace but in the Casa Santa Marta residence, it is here that the leaders continue to be received.
They will be escorted on this tour by the "gentlemen", lay people, members of noble families and who in the past received this title as a reward for serving the pontiff.
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Biden will enter the Tronetto Room alone, where the Pope will come out to greet him and then both will then go to the Library and after the required photos they will sit at a desk.
Much attention will be paid to the duration of the private meeting, which usually marks the interest shown by the pontiff and which in the case of the visit of former President Donald Trump on May 24, 2017 was 30 minutes, while with Barack Obama it lasted close to of 50.
On this occasion, and unlike in previous visits by US presidents, the Vatican decided not to broadcast the audience live, but will provide edited images of the meeting to the accredited media.
The White House press secretary, Jen Psaki, advancing the visit, said that she expected a "warm and constructive dialogue" between the two leaders.
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"There is a great coincidence between the president and Pope Francis on a number of issues: poverty, the fight against the climate emergency, the end of the COVID-19 pandemic," said Psaki.
"All of these are hugely important and impactful topics that will be at the center of their discussion when they meet," he confirmed.
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Biden is a practicing Catholic but nevertheless a part of the Catholic hierarchy harshly criticizes his positions in favor of abortion rights.
This is the second Catholic president of the United States to visit a pope, since the first was John F. Kennedy who was received at the Vatican by Paul VI on July 2, 1963 shortly after being elected.
While John F. Kennedy established his independence from Rome, Biden has not avoided highlighting how his faith has shaped his career, nor the relationship he has developed with Francis, based on shared faith and philosophy and deepened through multiple face-to-face encounters. to face.
Biden's agenda later includes a meeting with the Italian head of state, Sergio Mattarela, at the Quirinale Palace, the seat of the Republic's residence, and a bilateral meeting with Prime Minister Mario Draghi and with French President Emmanuel Macron.
The president, Joe Biden, and the first lady, Jill Biden, are received by the head of the Pontifical Household, Monsignor Leonardo Sapienza upon their arrival at the Vatican to meet with Pope Francis on Friday, October 29, 2021. Evan Vucci / AP
The president will visit Rome and then Glasgow, Scotland, for two consecutive summits, first a meeting of leaders of the Group of 20 leading and developing countries and then a world climate conference.
The leaders of the Group of the 20 most industrialized countries in the world will meet for the first time in person since the beginning of the pandemic to face a global recovery weighed down by a series of obstacles: an energy crisis that is raising the price of fuels and public services, new spikes in COVID-19 infections and bottlenecks in supply chains that keep the economy going and goods in the hands of consumers.
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The summit will allow leaders who represent 80% of the global economy to address all of these issues and exert peer pressure.
Analysts wonder how far they can go to immediately ease the burden on a population facing a general price hike, from food and furniture to higher heating bills as winter sets in in the Northern Hemisphere.
