The administration of America's second Catholic president, Joe Biden, has found itself at odds with several Catholic groups or churches in recent high-profile conflicts. Reports have emerged that President Biden's Pentagon severed ties with Catholic priests who provided services to patients at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. Additionally, his Justice Department proposed stripping away protections for Catholic student groups on college campuses.
Republican lawmakers expressed outrage this week upon discovering that officials in the Biden administration had sent a "cease and desist" letter during Holy Week, which would have left no available resources for providing Catholic priests to Walter Reed. Meanwhile, the Justice Department offered a lenient plea deal under Biden's watch and the FBI contemplated infiltrating traditional Catholic churches on multiple occasions.
In an unexpected turn of events during a visit to a Catholic shrine in County Mayo, Maryland, President Joe Biden met Father Richard Gibbons—the priest who performed the last rites sacrament for his late son Beau. The two shared an emotional moment as Fr Gibbons recounted their chance meeting while giving President Biden a tour of Knock Shrine—a site famous among locals who claimed to have seen an apparition of the Virgin Mary there in 1879.
Fr Gibbons described how moved President Biden was by their encounter: "He laughed and cried...it was deeply touching." Several popes have visited this pilgrimage destination throughout history; most recently Pope Francis made his visitation in 2018.
On Friday, accompanied by his son Hunter and sister Valerie, President Joe Biden made another poignant trip—this time to Ireland—to see firsthand Laurita Blewitt’s fundraising efforts towards constructing a new hospice facility worth $10 million where he'd participated earlier in 'turning sod' groundbreaking ceremony. The president also saw the plaque bearing Beau’s name near its entrance—an homage he’d promised would be returned when construction was complete—and then toured both around Knock Shrine and the hospice center, where he was received warmly by Father Richard Gibbons.
Biden's encounter with Fr. Frank O'Grady, a priest from his more recent past who had administered last rites to Beau Biden before his death in 2015 due to brain cancer, marked another spontaneous and emotional meeting for the president during this trip. A White House official confirmed that Mr. Biden broke down in tears upon seeing Friar O’Grady at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Knock—the sacred shrine for Roman Catholics—where they were granted a last-minute security clearance.
Although President Joe Biden continues to face criticism over conflicts between his administration and Catholic groups or churches, these encounters serve as reminders of the deep personal connections he shares with members within those communities.