Speaking to a crowd of ambassadors, Vatican officials and other Rome-based Americans, Pelosi spoke about the Catholic virtues of faith, hope and charity and the important role they play in the U.S. Embassy’s mission. Pelosi met with Francis on Wednesday before the Mass and received a blessing, according to one of the Mass attendees. Last year, President Joe Biden, another Catholic who also supports abortion rights, said after meeting with Francis that the pontiff told him to continue receiving the sacrament. Biden later received Communion during a Mass in a Rome church that is under the authority of Francis as bishop of Rome. Pelosi’s partaking of the sacrament inside the Vatican during a papal Mass was even more significant, and a sign of Francis’ unwillingness to refuse the sacrament.
