President Joe Biden changed his travel plans to Rome to award Pope Francis the Medal of Freedom due to the California wildfires, but the two still spoke on Saturday.

Unlike that of his only Catholic predecessor in the job, John F. Kennedy, Biden’s Catholicism, White said, “was embedded both in his persona growing up, in the tragedies that have marked his life. It is a huge part of his persona, in a way that’s unlike Kennedy, who was quite private.”

President Joe Biden has awarded Pope Francis the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, the first time in his term the president has bestowed that honor, the White House announced on Saturday.

Their sad, shared legacy is that both men have diminished their high offices.

Biden spoke by phone with His Holiness Pope Francis Saturday morning and "expressed his deep regret" that he was unable to visit Rome and Vatican City.

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Joe Biden awarded a Presidential Medal of Freedom to Pope Francis, a personal marker of his Roman Catholic faith after devastating fires in California prompted the president to cancel a Vatican visit during his final days in office.

President Joe Biden has honored Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction. It's the highest civilian award given by the president.

Biden, the nation's second Catholic president, spoke with the pontiff to name him a recipient of the award, the White House said.

The pontiff has been celebrated for "his mission of serving the poor" and as a "welcoming leader" who "reaches out to different faiths".

President Joe Biden awarded Pope Francis with a Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction during a phone call on Saturday, according to the White House.

WASHINGTON — President Joe Biden on Saturday honored Pope Francis with the Presidential Medal of Freedom with distinction, the highest civilian award given by the president, saying the pontiff ...