Biden awards presidential medal of freedom to Pope Francis
ROME — President Joe Biden awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom with Distinction to Pope Francis on Saturday, granting one of the nation’s highest honors to a figure he called “the People’s Pope.”
“Pope Francis, your humility and your grace are beyond words, and your love for all is unparalleled,” Biden wrote on the social platform X. “You are a light of faith, hope, and love that shines brightly across the world.”
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Biden honored the pontiff during a weekend in which he was scheduled to meet with the pope in person at the Holy See. The president, however, canceled the three-day trip to Italy to coordinate the federal response to raging wildfires in Los Angeles, according to a White House statement.
Rather than the usual award ceremony, in which the president places the award around the neck of the recipient, Biden posted on X an image from the Oval Office in which a military aide presented the medal. The White House announced the honor after Biden spoke to Francis on Saturday and informed him of the award.
It was the first time during Biden’s term that he had awarded the medal “with distinction,” a more prestigious version of the honor. Biden received the recognition from President Barack Obama in 2017. Other recipients include Pope John Paul II and Colin Powell.
Biden, a Catholic, has seen Francis as an admired ally on the global stage and turned to him as a sounding board, and the pope has lobbied for Biden to use his presidential power during his final weeks in office. A citation included in the White House announcement for the award said that Francis was “unlike any who came before.”
