When a Pope Meets a U.S. President: 2014

Note: This post is an update of an earlier piece we wrote in anticipation of President Obama's July 10, 2009 meeting with Pope Benedict XVI.

President Obama's upcoming meeting with Pope Francis at the Vatican, March 27, marks the 28th time  a sitting U.S. President has met with a pope. The meetings, which will now include 12 presidents and 6 popes, are replete with historical odds and ends:

1. Woodrow Wilson met Benedict XV, the Vatican, January 4, 1919. Meeting just after the end of World War I, Wilson had pushed for a lasting peace via his League of Nations proposal, and Pope Benedict had been a powerful advocate for peace throughout the war.

2. Dwight D. Eisenhower met John XXIII, the Vatican, December 6, 1959. Following a 40-year hiatus, this meeting would begin in earnest the precedent of every pope (except John Paul I) and every president meeting. While apparently very genial, this meeting also faced the challenge of Eisenhower not knowing Italian and John XXIII not knowing English.

3. John F. Kennedy met Paul VI, the Vatican, July 2, 1963. While Jacqueline Kennedy met John XXIII in a private audience, JFK missed him by a month, instead visiting the newly-elected Pope Paul. They reportedly discussed civil rights.

4. Lyndon Johnson met Paul VI, New York, October 4, 1965. This meeting took place in the historical context of the first visit by a pope to the United States. Paul VI would visit and address the United Nations while he was in town.

5. Lyndon Johnson met Paul VI, the Vatican, December 23, 1967. This was the first repeat encounter between a particular pope and president. Johnson's record will be matched by Nixon and shattered by the likes of Reagan, Clinton and George W. Bush. Pope Paul will go on to meet two more presidents.

6. Richard Nixon met Paul VI, the Vatican, March 2, 1969.

7. Richard Nixon met Paul VI, the Vatican, September 29, 1970.

8. Gerald Ford met Paul VI, the Vatican, June 3, 1975. Ford was the fourth and final U.S. president met by Pope Paul. John Paul II would meet five.

9. Jimmy Carter met John Paul II, the White House, October 6, 1979. Along with being the first of 15 meetings between Pope John Paul and a sitting president, this was the first time a pope visited the White House, which would go unrepeated until 2008.

10. Jimmy Carter met John Paul II, the Vatican, June 21, 1980.

11. Ronald Reagan met John Paul II, the Vatican, June 7, 1982.

12. Ronald Reagan met John Paul II, Fairbanks, Alaska, May 2, 1984. Pope John Paul was stopping to refuel on his way to Seoul. President Reagan was on his way back from China. While quick and in passing, this meeting still allowed the two to speak about the pressing issues of the time. It also followed shortly after the U.S. and the Holy See formally opened diplomatic relations.

13. Ronald Reagan met John Paul II, the Vatican, June 6, 1987.

14. Ronald Reagan met John Paul II, Miami, September 10, 1987.

15. George Bush met John Paul II, the Vatican, May 27, 1989.

16. George Bush met John Paul II, the Vatican, November 8, 1991.

17. Bill Clinton met John Paul II, Denver, August 12, 1993. Pope John Paul was in town for World Youth Day.

18. Bill Clinton met John Paul II, the Vatican, June 2, 1994.

19. Bill Clinton met John Paul II, Newark, October 4, 1995.

20. Bill Clinton met John Paul II, St. Louis, January 26, 1999. President Clinton met with the pope more times on American soil than any other president. Of course, one could argue a traveler like JPII made it easy for him.

21. George W. Bush met John Paul II, Castel Gandolfo, July 23, 2001. This is the first and only time a pope received a president at the papal summer residence in Italy.

22. George W. Bush met John Paul II, the Vatican, May 28, 2002.

23. George W. Bush met John Paul II, the Vatican, June 4, 2004. President Bush presented Pope John Paul with the Presidential Medal of Freedom.

24. George W. Bush met Benedict XVI, the Vatican, June 9, 2007. It's worth noting that Bush, along with former Presidents Bush and Clinton, also attended the funeral of Pope John Paul II in April of 2005, which was also attended by then-Cardinals Joseph Ratzinger and Jorge Mario Bergoglio, S.J., the future Pope Benedict XVI and Pope Francis, respectively.

25. George W. Bush met Benedict XVI, the White House, April 16 2008. Bush also greeted Pope Benedict upon his arrival at Andrews Airforce Base. The White House reception included a birthday celebration for the pope.

26. George W. Bush met Benedict XVI, the Vatican, June 13, 2008. Until next week's meeting, Bush holds the distinction of being the only sitting U.S. president to meet two popes. He has also met with the pope the more times than any sitting president, six.

27. Barack Obama met Benedict XVI, the Vatican, July 10, 2009. Obama held a roundtable discussion with religion writers at the White House in anticipation of the meeting. Benedict presented Obama with a gift of the Vatican's recent document on bioethics.

CNS Photo.

Hat tip to AP for the list of historic dates and places.

The Presidential/VP Slate, 2013

On November 12, the U.S. bishops -- gathered in Baltimore for their annual fall General Assembly -- will vote for their next president and vice president. The newly elected officers will begin their terms at the conclusion of the meeting (Thursday, November 14), when Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan of New York and Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville, Kentucky, complete their respective terms as president and vice president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Ten candidates are nominated by their brother bishops for the presidency and vice presidency. Following, in alphabetical order, is a breakdown with some vital statistics of this year's slate:

1. Archbishop Gregory Aymond

Archbishop of New Orleans

• Born November 12, 1949
• Ordained a priest of New Orleans May 10, 1975
• Auxiliary bishop of New Orleans, 1997-2000
• Coadjutor bishop of Austin, Texas, 2000-2001
• Bishop of Austin, Texas, 2001-2009

First native of New Orleans to serve as its archbishop. Currently wrapping up a term as chairman of USCCB's Divine Worship Committee, during which time he oversaw the implementation of the new English translation of the Roman Missal. Also serves USCCB Committees on Communications and Domestic Justice and Human Development.

2. Archbishop Charles J. Chaput, OFM Cap.

Archbishop of Philadelphia

• Born September 26, 1944
• Ordained a priest of the Capuchin Franciscan Order, August 29, 1970
• Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, 1988-1997
• Archbishop of Denver, 1997-2011

Currently chairs the Subcommittee on Native American Catholics. Serves on the USCCB Committee on Cultural Diversity in the Church and as a consultant to the Pro-Life Activities Committee.

3. Bishop Blase J. Cupich

Bishop of Spokane, Washington

• Born March 19, 1949
• Ordained priest of Omaha, Nebraska, August 16, 1975
• Bishop of Rapid City, South Dakota, 1998-2010

Previously served as chairman of the USCCB Committee on Child and Youth Protection (2008-11), overseeing release of John Jay Causes and Context Study. Currently chairs the Subcommittee on the Church in Central and Eastern Europe and is a member of the National Collections Committee.

4. Cardinal Daniel N. DiNardo

Archbishop of Galveston-Houston

• Born May 23, 1949
• Ordained priest of Pittsburgh, July 16, 1977
• Coadjutor bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, 1997-1998
• Bishop of Sioux City, Iowa, 1998-2004
• Coadjutor bishop/archbishop of Galveston-Houston, 2004-2006
• Elevated to cardinal, 2007

First cardinal from Texas. Chairman-elect of the bishops' Committee on Divine Worship. Former chairman of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities (2009-2012) and current member of that committee, as well as National Collections Committee and Subcomittee on Health Care Issues. Participated in the March 2013 conclave to elect Pope Francis.

5. Archbishop José H. Gomez

Archbishop of Los Angeles

• Born December 26, 1951
• Ordained priest of Opus Dei, August 15, 1978
• Auxiliary bishop of Denver, 2001-2004
• Archbishop of San Antonio, 2004-2010
• Coadjudutor archbishop of Los Angeles, 2010-2011

Head of the largest diocese in the United States. Member at large of USCCB Executive Committee. Chairman of Committee on Migration. Member of Subcommittee on Divine Worship in Spanish, the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America and consultant to Committee on International Justice and Peace.

6. Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz

Archbishop of Louisville, Kentucky

• Born August 18, 1946
• Ordained priest of Allentown, Pennsylvania, March 18, 1972
• Bishop of Knoxville, Tennesee, 1999-2007

Vice president of USCCB since 2010. Former chairman of USCCB's then-Ad Hoc Committee on the Defense of Marriage.

7. Archbishop William E. Lori

Archbishop of Baltimore

• Born May 6, 1951
• Ordained priest of Washington, May 14, 1977
• Auxiliary bishop of Washington, 1995-2001
• Bishop of Bridgeport, Connecticut, 2001-2012

Serves as chaplain of the Knights of Columbus. Chairman of the bishops' Ad Hoc Committee for Religious Liberty. Member of the Committee on Pro-Life Activities, the Committee on Budget and Finance and the Subcommittee for the Promotion and Defense of Marriage. Consultant to the Committee on Doctrine.

8. Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr

Archbishop of Cincinnati

• Born June 21, 1948
• Ordained priest of Sioux City, Iowa, July 20, 1974
• Bishop of Duluth, Minnesota, 2001-2008
• Coadjutor archbishop of Cincinnati, 2008-2009

Organizer of World Youth Day Denver in 1993 and served as general secretary of the U.S. bishops from 1995-2001. Chairman of the Committee on National Collections. Member of the Committee on Budget and Finance.

9. Archbishop Allen H. Vigneron

Archbishop of Detroit

• Born October 21, 1948
• Ordained a priest of Detroit, July 26, 1975
• Auxiliary bishop of Detroit, 1996-2003
• Coadjutor bishop of Oakland, California, 2003
• Bishop of Oakland, California, 2003-2009

First Detroit native to head the archdiocese. Member of the Committee on Doctrine and the Subcommittee on the Catechism.

10. Archbishop Thomas G. Wenski

Archbishop of Miami

• Born October 18, 1950
• Ordained priest of Miami, May 15, 1976
• Auxiliary bishop of Miami, 1997-2003
• Coadjutor bishop of Orlando, Florida, 2003-2004
• Bishop of Orlando, 2004-2010

First Miami native to head the archdiocese. Chairman-elect of the Committee on Domestic Justice and Human Development. Member of the Committees on Migration and International Justice and Peace and the Subcommittee on the Church in Latin America. Consultant to the Committee on Pro-Life Activities.