Biden's meeting with Pope Francis will be both official and deeply personal

Ahead of President Biden's visit with Pope Francis on Friday, a question was posed in a White House briefing about whether the meeting will be "personal or formal," and the answer from national security adviser Jake Sullivan was, "Both."

Biden is just the second Catholic president, and while John F. Kennedy took pains to downplay his faith, Biden often places it front and center. He quoted St. Augustine in his inaugural address and regularly cites Pope Francis in speeches.

Biden has talked and written about praying the Rosary in the Situation Room during the 2011 raid that killed Osama bin Laden.

Perhaps the most powerful signal to America's practicing and cultural Catholics came the night Biden spoke after being declared the winner of the 2020 presidential election. At a raucous honking drive-in rally, Biden recited lines from "On Eagles Wings," a '70s-era hymn that has become a mainstay at Catholic funerals.

"It goes like this," Biden said. "He will raise you up on eagle's wings. Bear you like the break of dawn. Make you to shine like the sun, and hold you in the palm of His hand."