7 Surprising Facts About America’s Only Two Catholic Presidents. How Many Can You Guess, Californians?

In nearly 250 years of American history, only two Catholic men have ever made it to the Oval Office. John F. Kennedy in 1961, and Joe Biden in 2021.

Just two.

Across nearly two and a half centuries, that’s a striking number, especially when you consider Catholics now make up about one in five American adults and have for generations.

The reasons stretch back to the country’s deep Protestant roots and centuries of suspicion toward the Catholic Church.

The two men who broke through couldn’t have arrived more differently.

Kennedy fought to convince a wary country his faith wouldn’t run his presidency. Biden, sixty years later, wore his rosary on his sleeve.

Here are the surprising facts about America’s only two Catholic presidents that many Californians don’t know.

Their Inaugurations Were Exactly 60 Years Apart

The timing of Kennedy and Biden’s two historic moments has a coincidence that few people noticed.

John F. Kennedy was sworn in as the 35th president on January 20, 1961. Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president on January 20, 2021.

That’s exactly six decades to the day.

Two Catholic men, two inaugurations, two different Americas, separated by sixty years on the dot.

For the long stretch in between, the United States never elected another Catholic to the White House.

Only one other Catholic, John Kerry in 2004, even made it to a major-party general election ticket as the nominee.

Both Came From Irish Catholic Roots

The thread connecting Kennedy and Biden runs straight back to Ireland.

Both men descended from Irish Catholic immigrant families who came to America in the 19th century, part of the great wave that helped build Boston, Scranton, and so many other Northeastern cities.

Kennedy’s mother, Rose, was the daughter of a Boston Irish political family.

Biden’s mother was a Finnegan from northeastern Pennsylvania.

Their childhoods were steeped in the same rhythms of Mass, family, and parish life that defined Irish Catholic America.

Biden was raised in Scranton, Pennsylvania, attending St. Paul’s Elementary School and later moving to Delaware.

Kennedy grew up between Boston and New York in a family where his mother famously ran the household with the discipline of a Catholic school nun, according to biographer Barbara Perry.

Kennedy Almost Lost the Election Over His Religion

It’s hard to imagine today, but Kennedy’s Catholic faith nearly cost him the presidency.

In 1960, anti-Catholic sentiment was still strong in much of America, and Kennedy was dogged by insinuations that as a Catholic, he’d take orders from the Vatican rather than serve American interests.

The accusations followed him through the entire campaign.

He was painfully aware of how the same prejudice had sunk Al Smith’s 1928 presidential run, the only other Catholic to seriously attempt the office.

To answer the critics, Kennedy gave a famous speech to a group of Protestant ministers in Houston, telling them, “I am not the Catholic candidate for president. I am the Democratic Party’s candidate for president, who happens also to be a Catholic.”

That speech is widely credited with helping him narrowly win the election.

Biden Almost Became a Priest

Before politics ever entered the picture, Joe Biden seriously considered a very different path.

As a young man, Biden thought about going into the seminary to become a Catholic priest.

His grandfather had taught him to pray the rosary, and his upbringing in Scranton was so deeply tied to the Church that the priesthood felt like a real option.

He attended St. Helena School and then Archmere Academy, a Catholic prep school in Delaware, before college shifted his trajectory.

The senator-then-president path eventually pulled him into public life instead.

But that early consideration of the priesthood says something about how deeply rooted his faith was from the very beginning.

Their Public Faith Looked Nothing Alike

Despite sharing the same religion, the two men handled it in office in dramatically different ways.

Kennedy, having had to fight off accusations of dual loyalty, mostly kept his faith private once in office.

He attended Mass when he could, but he was careful to avoid any appearance that the Church influenced his policy.

Biden took the opposite approach.

He attended Mass nearly every Sunday, carried a rosary that belonged to his late son Beau in his pocket, and openly referenced his faith, scripture, and the pope in speeches.

He even kept a framed photo of himself with Pope Francis in the Oval Office.

Kennedy kept his faith from the public eye. Biden put his right on the desk.

Biden Used a 127-Year-Old Family Bible

When Biden took the oath of office on January 20, 2021, the Bible he placed his hand on was anything but ordinary.

It was a 127-year-old family Bible, one Biden has used for every major moment of his political career going back decades, including each of his Senate swearings-in.

The leather-bound book has been a constant companion through the milestones of his life.

The Catholic Bible itself is a hefty piece of family history.

Holding it up at the U.S. Capitol on that cold January day, Biden was carrying a piece of his Scranton roots and his family’s Irish Catholic heritage right into the presidency, a personal touch that drew a clear line between his faith and the moment.

Biden’s Faith Has Put Him at Odds With the Church

Here’s where the second Catholic president’s story takes an unexpected turn. The U.S. Catholic hierarchy hasn’t always embraced him.

Despite being one of the most openly devout presidents in modern American history, Biden has faced sharp criticism from some American bishops over his positions on issues like abortion rights and gay marriage, which conflict with official Catholic teaching.

Some bishops publicly called him an “evil” president.

Others called him a “cafeteria Catholic” who picks and chooses what to follow.

A small number even wanted to deny him Communion.