President Joe Biden, 81, embraced a surprised-looking Pope Francis, 87, with an intimate forehead-to-forehead hug on Friday during the second day of the G7 summit in Italy.
The pontiff had been wheeled into a room of world leaders to take part in a discussion of issues surrounding artificial intelligence, energy and the Africa-Mediterranean region.
HE IS THE FIRST POPE EVER
He is the first pope ever to attend a G7 gathering.
WORLD LEADERS AT THE G7 GATHERING
Other leaders joining the discussion included Argentina President Javier Milei, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
BIDEN WILL BE IN A CLOSED DOOR MEETING WITH POPE
Biden, who is the America’s second Roman Catholic president was scheduled to meet privately with Francis later Friday.
The president and pope were likely to discuss the situation in Ukraine, the Israel-Hamas war, and AI and climate change, a senior administration official said.
It will be Biden’s last official event before he departs the summit for the US to attend a Hollywood fundraiser hosted by actor George Clooney.
