Which Popes Have Made Visits To The White House?
By NANCY AZIZ
History
According to White House History, of the ten times a supreme pontiff of the Catholic Church has visited the United States, they have only visited the White House three times.
The first time was on October 6, 1979, when President Jimmy Carter welcomed Pope John Paul II. From the Truman Balcony, the pope delivered a papal blessing to a crowd of 6,000.
The following year, President Carter visited Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, where Carter reaffirmed his position on human rights.
Nearly 30 years later on April 16, 2008, President George W. Bush and his wife, Laura, met Pope Benedict XVI at Andrews Air Force Base before returning to the White House.
A singer sang "The Lord's Prayer" to a crowd of 13,500 on the South Lawn before the pope met with the president privately and spoke at the United Nations about human rights.
On September 23, 2015, President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama hosted Pope Francis at the White House, addressing a crowd of 10,000 on the South Lawn.
President Obama gave the pope a dove sculpture made of metal from the Statue of Liberty and received a bronze medallion from the Catholic Church’s World Meeting of Families.
President Joe Biden, a Catholic, met with Pope Francis in 2021 at the Vatican. The next time a pope will visit the White House has yet to be announced.