President Biden will make his final foreign trip of his presidency, visiting Italy to meet with Pope Francis and Italian officials.
Biden is set to arrive soon after the Vatican begins the Holy Year , which officially opens on Christmas Eve. He will travel to Italy next month to meet with Pope Francis and top Italian officials for what is expected to be the final international trip of his presidency. White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that Biden will also meet with Italy 's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella during the Jan. 9-12 trip.
“The President thanked the Pope for his continued advocacy to alleviate global suffering, including his work to advance human rights and protect religious freedoms,” the White House said in a statement. Jean-Pierre said Biden and Francis will “discuss efforts to advance peace around the world.' She said Biden intends to use his final meeting with Meloni to “discuss important challenges facing the world” and to thank her for Italy's leadership as the country's winds up its yearlong, rotating presidency at the Group of Seven. Overseas visits this late in a U.S. presidency aren't typical. The last president to travel overseas in the final month of his presidency was fellow one-termer George H.W. Bush, who traveled in early January 1993 to Moscow to sign a nuclear treaty and to Paris for talks with French President François Mitterrand about the Bosnian war, according to State Department historical records. Biden, a practicing Roman Catholic, last met privately with Francis earlier this year while in Italy for the G7 leaders meeting. He also met with Francis at the Vatican in 2021, when they had a wide-ranging conversation about climate change, poverty and the coronavirus pandemic. Their warm conversation also touched on the loss of the president’s adult son Beau, who died of cancer in 2015, and included jokes about aging well. Biden's support for abortion rights and same-sex marriage has put him at odds with many U.S. bishops, some of whom have suggested he should be denied Communio
BIDEN POPE FRANCIS ITALY INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS HOLY YEAR
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