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Pontiffs and presidents: White House-Vatican relationship stretches a century, including fighting communism
The Vatican and White House have for decades kept a close relationship, with various popes and presidents meeting in the nation’s capital and in Vatican City across the years.
Pope Francis died on Easter Monday at the age of 88, following years of health issues, including chronic lung disease. Francis was the head of the Roman Catholic Church from 2013 until his death, and had met with three U.S. presidents across his tenure.
Francis’ last high-profile meeting with a U.S. leader was held just hours before his death, when Vice President JD Vance traveled to Italy for the Easter holiday and met with the pope on the most holy day for Christians.
«I know you’ve not been feeling great, but it’s good see you in better health,» Vance told the pontiff Sunday.
FAITH LEADERS REFLECT ON POPE FRANCIS’ DEATH, PAPACY AND LASTING LEGACY: ‘MADE HIS MARK’
A person holds a portrait of late Pope Francis at the Basílica de San José de Flores, where he worshipped as a youth, following the Vatican’s announcement of his death, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Monday, April 21, 2025. (Gustavo Garello/AP)
«I pray for you every day,» Vance said. «God bless you.»
Following Francis’ death, Fox News Digital took a look back on high-profile meetings and friendships the Vatican and White House have forged across the years.
Reagan and Pope John Paul II look to thwart communism
Amid the Cold War in 1982 – just years before the Berlin Wall fell in 1989 and the dissolution of the Soviet Union in 1991 – President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II met at the Vatican.
PHOTO GALLERY: POPE FRANCIS THROUGH THE YEARS
Pope John Paul II greets President Ronald Reagan and first lady Nancy Reagan, on their visit to the Vatican. (Corbis/Corbis via Getty Images)
The meeting marked the first time a president and pope met alone behind closed doors, a 1982 article detailing the visit reported, and came roughly a year after both had survived assassination attempts just weeks apart in 1981. The meeting marked the beginning of the pair’s close friendship as they worked to defeat the growing threat of communism on the world stage.
Two years later, the pair met again in Fairbanks, Alaska, where they delivered messages of peace in a world on the edge as tensions between the communist Eastern Bloc and the capitalist Western Bloc flared.
«In a violent world, Your Holiness, you have been a minister of peace and love. Your words, your prayers, your example have made you – for those who suffer oppression or the violence of war – a source of solace, inspiration, and hope,» Reagan said. «For this historic ministry the American people are grateful to you, and we wish you every encouragement in your journeys for peace and understanding in the world.»
The two world leaders’ friendship was rooted in their disgust of communism, socialism and atheism that had gripped the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe. The pope and the Reagan administration worked closely to promote the Solidarity labor movement in Poland, John Paul II’s home country, which encouraged citizens to reject communism in the satellite state of the USSR, the Associated Press previously reported.
President Ronald Reagan and Pope John Paul II meet, along with U.S. and Vatican officials, at Fairbanks International Airport on May 2, 1984, in Alaska. (David Hume Kennerly/Getty Images)
The Vatican has denied a formal alliance with the U.S. during the promotion of the Solidarity labor movement, but has said in more recent years that Pope John Paul II and Reagan shared a common goal of fighting totalitarianism, the Associated Press reported in 2004.
REAGAN, JOHN PAUL II UNITED IN PURPOSE
In 1989, Poland became the first country in the Eastern bloc to hold semi-free elections, which resulted in a resounding win for the Solidarity movement and led to the dissolution of the communist government in Poland. The win had a domino effect on other nations as 1989 became known as the year communism fell, including the destruction of the Berlin Wall later that year and the eventual end to the Soviet Union in 1991.
President Ronald Reagan sits with Pope John Paul II in Vizcaya Mansion. (Diana Walker/Getty Images)
«Pope John Paul II and President Reagan worked together to bring an end to atheistic Soviet communism,» former Republican Gov. Scott Walker wrote in a 2020 Washington Times op-ed of Reagan and Pope John Paul II. «The two had a divine plan to stop the Soviet empire that was engaged in a war on religion and individual liberties. The work of a pope and a president helped bring about the collapse of communism and yielded more freedom and opportunity for people all over the world.»
Woodrow Wilson, the 28th president, and Pope Benedict XV met in 1919. (Getty Images)
Wilson becomes first president to meet with pope
Democrat Woodrow Wilson in 1919 became the first U.S. president to meet with a pontiff, opening the doors to normalizing an open line of communication between Washington and Vatican City.
Wilson was traveling in Europe following the end of World War I and «called upon his Holiness Pope Benedict XV,» according to an article published in America, a Catholic magazine, that year.
VANCE WAS ONE OF POPE FRANCIS’ LAST VISITORS
«The President’s arrival was announced by the Master of the Chamber to the Pope, who awaited Mr. Wilson in the Throne Room,» the magazine reported at the time. «The President was admitted immediately to the presence of the Holy Father, who welcomed him most cordially. They spent about a half hour together. It is not, of course, officially known what were the subjects which they discussed.»
The meeting, which came at a time of ongoing anti-Catholic sentiment stemming from the influx of Catholic immigrants at the turn of the century, set the standard for presidents forging relationships with the Vatican – though such meetings did not become normalized until decades later.
Dwight D. Eisenhower at an audience with Pope John XXIII, together with an official and his daughter-in-law Barbara Eisenhower Thompson, Vatican City, December 1959. (Mondadori via Getty Images)
Eisenhower meets with Pope John XXIII
Presidents meeting with the pope did not become common until 1959, when President Dwight Eisenhower visited Pope John XXIII while on a tour of various countries, including Italy, Office of the Historian documents show.
The second meeting between a pope and president set a new tradition.
Every president since Eisenhower has met with the current pope, totaling 32 meetings both in the U.S. and in Vatican City since 1959, Fox Digital found.
Pope John Paul II is welcomed to the White House by President Jimmy Carter. (Michael Norcia/Sygma via Getty Images)
First papal visit to the White House
It wasn’t until 1979, during President Jimmy Carter’s administration, that the pontiff traveled to Washington and joined the president for a meeting at the White House.
Pope John Paul II was invited to the White House amid his first papal pilgrimage to the United States in 1979, when he was well-received by U.S. Catholics and nicknamed «John Paul, Superstar» by Time magazine due to the lage crowds he drew amid his visits to Boston, New York and Denver.
POPE FRANCIS’ VIEWS ON BUSINESS, THE ECONOMY THROUGH THE YEARS
«Sharing the belief that respect for human rights and the dignity of the individual must be the cornerstone of the domestic and international policies of nations, the Pope and the President underlined their support for international covenants on human rights and for international organizations and entities which serve the cause of human rights,» the Carter administration said in a statement at the time of the visit. «They agreed that the international community must mobilize its concern and resources to deal with the problems of refugees, to protect human rights, and to prevent hunger and famine.»
A pope visiting the White House has been rarer than a president visiting the Vatican. Pope Benedict visited the White House in 2008 when he celebrated his 81st birthday with President George W. Bush, and Francis traveled to the White House in 2015 and met with President Barack Obama. Other popes have not met a president at the White House.
Pope Francis meets President Donald Trump and first lady Melania Trump at the Apostolic Palace on May 24, 2017, in Vatican City. (Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
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President Donald Trump, who had clashed with Pope Francis on environmental and political policies, is slated to travel to Vatican City later this week to attend the pope’s funeral Mass.
«Melania and I will be going to the funeral of Pope Francis, in Rome. We look forward to being there!» the president posted Monday to Truth Social.
Vatican News & Updates,Pope Francis,White House,Roman Catholic,World
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Vice President JD Vance issued a warning to Hamas on Tuesday while speaking to reporters at the new Civilian Military Cooperation Center (CMCC), which plays a critical role in the historic ceasefire deal.
«The terms of the 20 point plan that the president put out there is very clear. It’s supported not just by Israel, by, but by all of our Gulf Arab friends. It’s that Hamas has to disarm. It’s that Hamas has to actually behave itself and that Hamas, while all the fighters can be given some sort of clemency, they’re not going to be able to kill each other, and they’re not going to be able to kill their fellow Palestinians,» Vance said.
«Right now, where I stand, I feel confident that we’re going to be in a place where this peace lasts, where it’s durable, and if Hamas doesn’t cooperate, then, as the United States has said, Hamas is going to be obliterated,» Vance added.
President Donald Trump urged Hamas to move quickly on a U.S.-brokered peace proposal aimed at ending the Gaza conflict. (Alex Wong/Getty Images; MAHMUD HAMS/AFP via Getty Images)
The vice president’s warning came after President Donald Trump issued one of his own, saying that if Hamas did not act in accordance with the agreement, the terror organization’s end would be «fast, furious and brutal.»
During a meeting with Australian Prime Minister Anthony Albanese on Monday, Trump said that Hamas would be eradicated if it did not hold up its end of the deal. The president issued similar warnings since the peace deal went into effect last week.
In addition to his warning to Hamas, Vance scolded the media over its apparent «desire to root for failure,» saying that any setbacks or hiccups did not necessarily mean the end of the deal.
«Every time something bad happens and every time that there’s an act of violence, there’s this inclination to say, ‘oh, this is the end of the ceasefire. This is the end of the peace plan.’ It’s not the end. It is, in fact, exactly how this is going to have to happen when you have people who hate each other, who have been fighting against each other for a very long time. We are doing very well. We are in a very good place,» Vance said before praising the team working to implement the Gaza deal.
Vice President JD Vance speaks during a press conference following a military briefing at the Civilian Military Coordination Center in southern Israel Oct. 21, 2025. (Nathan Howard/Pool via Reuters)
While Vance demanded Hamas disarm in accordance with the deal, he refused to give the terrorist organization an exact deadline, something Trump has not done either.
«The president actually put out a truth this morning that I thought was very instructive. We know that Hamas has to comply with the deal, and if Hamas doesn’t comply with the deal, very bad things are going to happen. But I’m not going to do what the president United States has thus far refused to do, which is put an explicit deadline on it, because a lot of this stuff is difficult. A lot of this stuff is unpredictable,» the vice president said.
The opening of the CMCC is a major milestone in the implementation of the historic deal. Navy Adm. Brad Cooper, head of CENTCOM, attended the news conference and said «200 of America’s sons and daughters, who wear the cloth of the nation, have stepped up and are serving here. I just couldn’t be prouder.»
Jared Kushner was also in attendance at the news conference where he spoke about plans for Gaza reconstruction and the efforts currently underway in the ceasefire deal. Kushner noted that there was «surprisingly strong coordination between the United Nations and Israel» on efforts to get aid to Palestinians in the enclave.
Kushner also said that progress was being made towards getting back the remains of all deceased hostages held in the Gaza Strip.
Prior to Vance’s arrival in Israel, several hostages who were freed as part of the historic deal brokered by the Trump administration met with U.S. Special Envoy Steve Witkoff and Kushner. The meeting included Omri Miran, Gali Berman, Ziv Berman, Yosef Chaim Ohana, Matan Angrest, Bar Kupershtein, Segev Kalfon, Nimrod Cohen and Eitan Horn.
The Hostages and Missing Families Forum said the former hostages thanked Witkoff and Kushner and expressed «profound gratitude to President Trump for making their freedom a top priority and working tirelessly to ensure their release after more than two years in captivity.»
When speaking at the CMCC, Witkoff said the meeting was an «emotional moment» and that he felt «blessed to be in that room.»
«I didn’t see any victims in that room. I saw strong people who have come out under very difficult circumstances. Their families are reunited, and they are so grateful,» Witkoff said.
In his closing remarks, Vance expressed his trust in God’s providence and said he believed the job could be done.
«I know that Christians have many titles for Jesus Christ, and one of them is the Prince of Peace. And I’d ask all people of faith, in particular my fellow Christians, to pray that the Prince of Peace can continue to work a miracle in this region of the world. I think that we have made incredible strides over the past week. We’re going to have to make a lot more. But I think with your prayers, with God’s providence and with a very good team behind me, I think we’re gonna get it done,» Vance said.
The vice president said that while in Israel, he hopes to visit the Church of the Holy Sepulchre, which Christians believe is the site where Jesus Christ was crucified.
This is a developing story. Please check back for updates.
world,israel,donald trump,jd vance,middle east
INTERNACIONAL
Blackburn says Trump support was ‘common thread’ among lawmakers reportedly targeted by Jack Smith
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FIRST ON FOX: Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., was one of nearly a dozen Senate Republicans allegedly probed by former Special Counsel Jack Smith, an investigation she wasn’t aware of until earlier this month.
She was one of several Senate Republicans that Smith allegedly surveilled as part of his investigation into the Jan. 6, 2021, Capitol riots. But it was only revealed earlier this month by the FBI — thanks to an oversight request by Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley, R-Iowa — that Smith allegedly requested phone records on her and others.
Blackburn told Fox News Digital in an exclusive interview that until the documents from Smith’s «Arctic Frost» investigation were revealed, she had no idea that her phone records were being surveilled.
JACK SMITH INVESTIGATORS NEED TO ‘PAY BIG’ FOR JAN. 6 PHONE RECORDS PROBE, WARNS SEN. GRAHAM
Sen. Marsha Blackburn, R-Tenn., believed that the «common thread» on former Special Counsel Jack Smith’s alleged spying on congressional Republicans was their support of President Donald Trump. (Anna Moneymaker/Getty Images)
She believed the «common thread» behind the former special counsel’s probe, which was carried out in 2023, was because «the eight of us are all Republicans. We all support President Trump.»
Blackburn and Sens. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C., Ron Johnson, R-Wis., Josh Hawley, R-Mo., Cynthia Lummis, R-Wyo., Bill Hagerty, R-Wyo., Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska, Tommy Tuberville, R-Ala., and Rep. Mike Kelly, R-Pa., were all reportedly part of Smith’s investigation.
In response, Blackburn and many of the others that were allegedly surveilled by Smith want to see him disbarred.
«This is about making certain we have one tier of justice, and that we stop this two tiers of justice,» Blackburn said. «And if they can do this to eight sitting U.S. senators, what could they possibly — I mean, think about how, what they must be doing to conservatives in this country.»
Last week, she and Graham, Tuberville, Sullivan and Kelly sent a letter to Attorney General Pam Bondi demanding an investigation into Smith, and that he be referred to the Department of Justice’s (DOJ) Office of Professional Responsibility.
HAGERTY PRESSES VERIZON OVER FBI’S ACCESS TO HIS PHONE RECORDS DURING JACK SMITH PROBE
Special Counsel Jack Smith delivers remarks on an unsealed indictment including four felony counts against former President Donald Trump in Washington, Aug. 1, 2023. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)
The end goal of the investigation is to see Smith disbarred from both New York and Tennessee, two states where he holds a license to practice law. Blackburn argued that Smith’s alleged spying on her and others was a «First Amendment and Fourth Amendment violation.»
Her latest push against the former special counsel came on the heels of another letter sent to AT&T, T-Mobile and Verizon demanding why the cellphone carriers allegedly allowed Smith and the FBI under the Biden administration to track their communications.
«You would have thought that, because of the Stored Records Act and the First Amendment, the Fourth Amendment and the Speech and Debate Clause, that at least Verizon, who’s my wireless carrier, would have informed me that there was a request on my records,» she said.
JACK SMITH TRACKED PRIVATE COMMUNICATIONS, CALLS OF NEARLY A DOZEN GOP SENATORS DURING J6 PROBE, FBI SAYS
President Donald Trump listens to Argentina’s President Javier Milei (not pictured) in the Cabinet Room at the White House in Washington, Oct. 14, 2025. (Andrew Caballero-Reynolds/AFP via Getty Images)
«But of course, there was nothing given to us, and it’s the reason that we sent the letter to Verizon and then followed it with a letter … to the DOJ on Jack Smith,» she continued.
Smith is one of a handful of former officials that have been targeted by the DOJ under the Trump administration. He is currently under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel for alleged Hatch Act violations, which bars government employees from participating in political activities.
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Then there are federal indictments against former FBI Director James Comey for allegedly making false statements and obstructing justice, and former National Security Advisor John Bolton for allegedly mishandling classified documents.
Blackburn was one of many Republicans that railed against so-called political witch hunts against President Donald Trump when he was out of office. When asked what the difference between the indictments against Trump and his allies compared to the latest crop of former officials, she said it was about accountability.
«These need to be investigated so that this kind of stuff stops,» Blackburn said. «And one of the differences, I think you see between Democrats and Republicans, is Democrats repeatedly circle the wagons, and they push things under the rug, and then they want two tiers of justice. And with Republicans, the focus is on accountability and transparency, and I think that is a major, major difference.»
senate,justice department,corruption,donald trump,politics
El cantante español Joaquín Sabina ya tiene una novela gráfica sobre su biografía, un proyecto que sedujo a los guionistas Kike Babas y Kike Turrón (los Kikes), que vieron en el artista un personaje de cómic.
“Sabina tiene una vida de cómic y una cantidad de canciones que pueden ser hechas viñetas en cualquier momento”, argumentan.
El primer volumen de Joaquín Sabina. Pasión y Vida (Bao Bilbao Ediciones), que se publica este mes, tiene el acicate de haber agotado ya la primera edición en preventas. Han participado los Kikes y doce ilustradores, que narran “un trozo de su vida” (desde el nacimiento hasta 1995, año del álbum Yo, mi, me, contigo) porque meter a Sabina en un solo tomo resultaba complicado por su prolífica trayectoria.
Kike Babas y Kike Turrón explican que Sabina tiene novela gráfica porque “es un grande, porque es un personaje de cómic y por el empeño de los Kikes desde hace años de dar impulso y respeto a la cultura popular”.
“Siempre hemos envidiado que los países anglosajones rindan homenaje a su cultura popular, que Bob Dylan tenga cátedras en la universidad o que hubiera tomos de cómic sobre The Doors o Janis Joplin, y en España eso no estaba tratado”, dice Babas.
Así que, después de hacer biografías de cantantes y grupos como Manu Chao, Los Rodríguez, Rosendo, Siniestro Total…, pasaron a la novela gráfica con Fito, el humorista Gran Wyoming y ahora le llega el turno a Sabina.
Turrón admite que a la hora de decidirse por el personaje lo principal es que sea relevante y con público suficiente para lanzarse a ello.
Babas va un paso más allá y admite que a la hora de elegir personaje lo que manda es que les guste, pero también que llene plazas de toros o pabellones y que sea personaje de cómic: “Fito es un personaje de cómic, pero Sabina es otro”. Explican ambos que pidieron permiso a Sabina para hacer su biografía, igual que hacen con todos los artistas.
Un año tardaron en montar la biografía, tras obtener el ‘sí’ de Sabina, a través del cantautor Leiva, amigo en común.
La condición que puso Sabina fue que no lo molestaran porque se embarcaba en su gira de despedida y no quería volver a narrar historias que ya había contado en muchas ocasiones.
Babas explica que, en realidad, no necesitaban el relato de Sabina porque su vida está ya en 17 libros y la han interpretado decenas de periodistas. Es decir, solo con esa bibliografía extensa y buscando los libros en mercadillos, era suficiente.
A partir de ese trabajo de documentación, el objetivo era “resumir y resumir y buscar la esencia” hasta tener el guión listo para entregarlo a los ilustradores.
Y en el final del proceso, un audio de Sabina en whatsapp, con esa voz inconfundible y ronquísima, les confirmó que el trabajo estaba bien hecho: “Queridos Kikes, felicidades”, les dijo.
Turrón reconoce que, para dar dinamismo al guión, hicieron un ‘tour’ de ficción que pasaba por Úbeda, su pueblo natal, y por el Madrid antiguo, pero también por entrevistar a algunos personajes, como el que inspiró la canción ‘Juana la Loca’.
En la obra se mezcla la ficción y la no ficción, y algunas entrevistas como al poeta Benjamín Prado y al poeta y director del Instituto Cervantes, Luis García Montero, que han terminando siendo los prologuistas del libro.
Los Kikes están muy satisfechos de haber tenido la responsabilidad de haber puesto imágenes a sus canciones.
Sobre algún apunte oculto que desvele la obra, los Kikes comentan que algunos de los que han leído el libro adquirido en preventas han reconocido que, por ejemplo, “no tenían ni idea de que Sabina había tirado un cóctel molotov a una sucursal bancaria”.
Hay muchos datos en el libro, pero Sabina les reconoció tras leerlo: “Hay cosas que se cuentan mejor de lo que yo recordaba entre sombras”.
Babas destaca que una de los capítulos más atractivos es donde narra la llegada y el triunfo en Latinoamérica: “Como una persona tan andaluz, tan de Madrid, tan castiza y tan ibérica, de repente encuentra en Latinoamérica el triunfo absoluto. La patria es un idioma y Joaquín es un habitante perfecto de esa patria.
Los guionistas han hecho coincidir la publicación de la novela con la gira de Sabina que acaba en el mes de noviembre, y con la que se retira de los grandes recintos.
Fuente: EFE
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