White House says Biden will visit Pope Francis, Meloni in final international trip of his presidency

Source: Yahoo! News/AP

Updated Thu, December 19, 2024 at 6:35 PM EST


WASHINGTON (AP) — President Joe Biden 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.

Biden accepted Francis' invitation to visit the Vatican during a phone call Thursday, according to the White House. “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.

Read more: https://apnews.com/article/biden-vatican-pope-frances-842948a7a8d37122b38b2545e1a92568