The White House announced that President Joe Biden will head to Italy next month for a public meeting with Pope Francis in Vatican City before his term comes to an end.

Biden accepted the invitation to visit Vatican City during a phone call with Pope Francis Thursday, according to the White House. 

White House press secretary Karine Jean-Pierre said Thursday that Biden would meet with Italy's Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni and President Sergio Mattarella during the overseas trip. The four-day trip is planned for the second week in January, and the meeting between Biden and Pope Francis will occur in front of an audience on Jan. 10. 

"President Biden will have an audience with the Pope and discuss efforts to advance peace around the world," Jean-Pierre said Thursday. "He will also meet with Italy’s leaders to highlight the strength of the U.S.-Italy relationship, thank Prime Minister Meloni for her strong leadership of the G7 over the past year, and discuss important challenges facing the world." 

Italy's position as president of the G7 countries, a position that rotates annually, will come to an end in the new year. The G7 is a cohort of the world's largest advanced economies.

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Biden's trip to meet with Pope Francis will come shortly after the Vatican begins its Holy Year on Dec. 24, a centuries-long tradition that occurs every 25 years, during which pilgrims travel to Rome to visit holy sites and receive forgiveness.  

Biden is only the nation's second Catholic president, after John F. Kennedy. He has met with popes, including Francis, throughout his political career. The trips have also been reciprocated by Francis, who made his first formal visit to the U.S. when Biden was vice president.

Biden last met with Pope Francis in June, during which the pair discussed both the war in Israel and the war Russia is waging against Ukraine. The leaders reportedly emphasized the urgent need for a ceasefire in Gaza and the need to cement a hostage deal during their talks. They also spoke about the ongoing humanitarian impacts of Russia's war against Ukraine, according to the U.S. embassy in Italy. 

The pair met in 2021 as well, which was only the second time a U.S. president other than Kennedy had met with a pontiff. During the private talk, Biden reportedly lauded Francis's leadership "in fighting the climate crisis, as well as his advocacy to ensure the pandemic ends for everyone through vaccine sharing and equitable global economic recovery."

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One area where the two leaders' viewpoints notably diverge is abortion, however. Due to Biden's pro-choice stance, many critics, including Catholic bishops, questioned early on in his presidency whether Biden could continue receiving Holy Communion. But following the June meeting at the Vatican, Biden said that Francis expressed support for Biden to be allowed to continue receiving the sacrament.

Biden's trip in the final month of his presidency is expected to be his last overseas.

It will mark a rare occurrence, according to the Associated Press, which noted that the last president to travel overseas during the final month of his presidency was fellow one-term President George H.W. Bush. Bush traveled to Moscow and Paris on diplomatic missions to shore up a nuclear treaty and discuss the Bosnian war that was taking place at the time with France's then-president, according to historical records from the State Department.

A satanic "nativity" display involving an occult statue erected on Concord city property near the New Hampshire State Capitol was destroyed shortly after several vandalism incidents last week. Now, Democratic state Rep. Ellen Read is saying that the temple "probably should" get to erect a new display in its place.

"I think they probably should, because I think the vandalism and the hatefulness shouldn’t go without a response. But it’s up to them," Read said, the Catholic News Agency reported.

Read told the outlet she came up with the idea to suggest that The Satanic Temple (TST) put up the Christmas display, which was a statue of Baphomet – despite significant pushback from local officials – arguing that a Catholic groups' Nativity scene of Jesus should not be the only decoration there. She also said she is a member of TST but has not participated in any of its meetings or events. 

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According to its website, TST's mission "Is To Encourage Benevolence And Empathy, Reject Tyrannical Authority, Advocate Practical Common Sense, Oppose Injustice, And Undertake Noble Pursuits."

"We have publicly confronted hate groups, fought for the abolition of corporal punishment in public schools, applied for equal representation when religious installations are placed on public property, provided religious exemption and legal protection against laws that unscientifically restrict people's reproductive autonomy, exposed harmful pseudo-scientific practitioners in mental health care, organized clubs alongside other religious after-school clubs in schools besieged by proselytizing organizations, and engaged in other advocacy in accordance with our tenets," the website states. 

Avoiding a legal dispute over the First Amendment, the Concord City Council approved the organization's permit to show the display, despite the mayor saying earlier this week he wished the city had not approved it. 

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"I opposed the permit because I believe the request was made not in the interest of promoting religious equity but in order to drive an anti-religious political agenda, and because I do not respond well to legal extortion, the threat of litigation," Concord Mayor Byron Champlin said during the council's meeting last Monday. "Some on social media have celebrated the Satanic Temple’s display as a victory for religious pluralism and a reflection of our growing diversity as a community. I disagree with this. This is about an out-of-state organization cynically promoting its national agenda at the expense of the Concord community."

Meanwhile, the city put out a statement saying that due to the First Amendment and the potential for a lawsuit, the city was forced to choose between banning all holiday displays or allowing TST's statue.

"After reviewing its legal options, the City ultimately decided to continue the policy of allowing unattended displays at City Plaza during this holiday season and to allow the statue," the city said in a statement. "It is anticipated that the City Council will review next year whether permits for unattended holiday displays should be allowed at City Plaza."

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Read rebuked the mayor in an interview with the Catholic news outlet this week, saying, "I think it’s the narrow-mindedness of the mayor, who can’t seem to wrap his head around that this represents a large percentage of the community and its beliefs."

In a video posted to Facebook, two TST representatives unveiled the statue Monday. One spokesperson recalled the group's core tenets, before chanting, "Hail Satan!" and showcasing the statue. 

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Concord Deputy Police Chief John Thomas told a local news outlet that the investigation into who vandalized TST's property is ongoing. 

TST has erected several holiday displays near city or state properties, often alongside traditional Christian exhibits, in recent years. In 2022, the Illinois chapter of TST installed a holiday display in the state Capitol rotunda, which featured a crocheted serpent atop a book and a pile of apples. In December 2023, the Iowa TST chapter set up a Baphomet statue at the state Capitol, which was also vandalized shortly after its placement.