Pope Francis and Biden meet for 90 minutes at the Vatican

The Pope Francis and U.S. President Joe Biden met Friday at the Vatican for 90 minutes in a meeting prior to the G-20 heads of state and government meeting to be held in Rome this weekend, the Vatican Press Office said.

Pope Francis and Biden meet for 90 minutes at the Vatican

The meeting between the two lasted much longer than the Pope usually dedicates to these private appointments, which normally last an average of 30 minutes.

With Barack Obama he spent 52 minutes and with Donald Trump 30 minutes. During the conversations, a translator was used since Biden and the Pope do not share a common language.

After the talks, the exchange of gifts took place. Biden presented the Pope with a 1930’s hand-woven chasuble, the vestment worn by priests for Mass, and enclosed a note announcing that the White House will donate warm clothing to charities for World Day of the Poor.

The U.S. delegation – consisting of Secretary of State Antony Blinken, White House National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan and First Lady Jill Biden, who wore a dark blue suit with a mantilla – arrived at the Vatican around noon.

The Pope presented Biden with a compendium of his papal documents, including this year’s Message of Peace and the encyclical on human fraternity, “Fratelli Tutti.”

As usual, Biden, the second openly Catholic U.S. president to visit the Pope, then met with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin and Monsignor Paul Richard Gallagher, Secretary for Relations with States.