When Pope Francis met U.S. President Joe Biden at the Vatican in October 2021, the president praised the pontiff as “the most significant warrior for peace I’ve ever met.” Nearly three years later, as the two world leaders prepare to meet again on June 14, peace will likely dominate their discussion, with both representing sharply different visions of what that entails in the present moment.
Their first closely watched meeting took place against a backdrop of internal conflict, with certain U.S. bishops seeking to deny Communion to the nation’s second Catholic president over his support for abortion rights. The pope, who had warned against politicizing the Eucharist and stated he had never denied the sacrament to anyone, seemed to make his stance clear. After their meeting, Biden reported that Francis had described him as a “good Catholic” and encouraged him to continue receiving Communion.
As they meet for their second tête-à-tête of Biden’s presidency — this time in southern Italy on the sidelines of the G7 Summit, where the pope will deliver a speech on artificial intelligence — the ongoing wars in Gaza and Ukraine will likely consume much of their conversation.
On one side is a pope who has repeatedly called for a cease-fire in Gaza following Hamas’ attacks on Israel last October and who may have referred to the siege of Gaza as a “genocide,” depending on various reports. On the other side is a U.S. president whose administration has reaffirmed its support of Israel, including a recent arms sale worth over $1 billion, and who has dismissed comparisons of Israeli military actions against Palestinians to genocide.
Soon after the conflict began, it was the pope who called Biden to help lower tensions in the Middle East and to identify paths to peace. Eight months later, as they speak again, it’s unlikely that they will rehash their differing approaches from the past year. Instead, they may focus on building momentum for new peace initiatives, including a U.S.-backed cease-fire plan.
On Ukraine, the gap between the two leaders is even wider. Since the beginning of the conflict, a series of controversial statements from Francis — from suggesting that NATO might have provoked Russia to implying that Ukraine should negotiate for peace — have strained relations between the Holy See and much of the Western world, including the United States.
With France, the United Kingdom, and the United States giving Ukraine the green light to use their weapons to strike inside Russia, and a recent Vatican warning that this could lead to an “uncontrollable escalation,” the differences between the Holy See and the United States on resolving the conflict in Ukraine are stark.
Even so, when the pope and the president sit across from each other on Friday, they will likely focus on areas of agreement. Notably, they may discuss the joint effort between the pope’s special peace envoy, Italian Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, and Biden’s outgoing U.S. ambassador to the Vatican, Joe Donnelly, to repatriate an estimated 20,000 Ukrainian children abducted by Russia since the war began. This collaboration, highlighted by an Oval Office meeting last July, might provide a productive way to address underlying tensions.
In July 2022, the Vatican’s foreign minister, Archbishop Paul Gallagher, described U.S.-Holy See relations as “very positive.” He noted, “Frankly speaking, I think we found that we didn’t see quite as eye-to-eye with the previous administration as we do with this one. Obviously, we have difficulties with this administration as well, which are well known. But at the same time, there are other issues on which we can work very well.”
With a potential Biden-Trump rematch on the horizon, both sides are likely making similar calculations going into this upcoming meeting.
In 2021, the pope and the president met privately for over 75 minutes inside the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, believed to be the longest meeting between Francis and any world leader. This time, with the pope holding bilateral meetings with other G7 leaders, their encounter is limited to 30 minutes.
Beyond geopolitics, there might be another area where the pope and the president find common ground. At 81 years old, Biden faces scrutiny over his age and capability to fulfill his role. Francis, at 87, is already a year older than Biden would be at the end of a second term. Despite some serious disagreements, both men are likely keen to convey a similar message to each other and the world: Don’t count us out yet.
