WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden is expected discuss the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change with Pope Francis at the Vatican later this month, ahead of international summits in Rome and Glasgow, Scotland.
The Oct. 29 meeting will be the first for the two men since Biden took office. Biden, the second Catholic U.S. president, previously visited the Vatican and met with the pope when he was vice president, and Francis was greeted by Biden and his family on a visit to Washington in 2015.
“They will discuss working together on efforts grounded in respect for fundamental human dignity, including ending the COVID-19 pandemic, tackling the climate crisis, and caring for the poor,” White House press secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement.
In recent months, the pope has given a private audience to both Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken.
