Pope offers prayers for Trump as he becomes 45th U.S. president

VATICAN CITY (CNS) — Pope Francis sent best wishes and prayers to incoming President Donald J. Trump shortly after he took the oath of office.

“I offer you my cordial good wishes and the assurance of my prayers that almighty God will grant you wisdom and strength in the exercise of your high office,” the pope’s message said.

Saying that the human family faces “grave humanitarian crises” that demand “far-sighted and united political responses,” the pope said he would pray that Trump’s decisions “will be guided by the rich spiritual and ethical values that have the history of the American people and your nation’s commitment to the advancement of human dignity and freedom worldwide.”

The pope also said he hoped that America’s “stature” continued to be measured by “above all its concern for the poor, the outcast and those in need who, like Lazarus, stand before our door.”

The message concluded with the pope saying he would ask God to grant the new president, his family and all Americans “peace, concord and every material and spiritual prosperity.

Photo caption: U.S. President-elect Donald Trump and his wife, Melania, greet the Rev. Luis Leon as they depart from services at St. John’s Episcopal Church in Washington prior to the Donald Trump’s Jan. 20 swearing-in as the country’s 45th president. (CNS photo/Joshua Roberts, Reuters) 

Author: Catholic News Service

Catholic News Service is the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops’ news and information service.

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