Grace Thompson
Joe Biden, the 46th president of the United States, is a Catholic. He is the second Catholic president in US history, the first being John F. Kennedy. Biden's wife, Jill Biden, was raised Presbyterian and has not publicly stated her religious affiliation. However, she has regularly attended Catholic mass with her husband and expressed her love for Italy, a country closely tied to her family's Catholic religion. While the nature of their wedding ceremony in religious terms is not publicly known, it was officiated by a Jesuit priest, and they have been described by some sources as a Catholic couple.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Name | Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden |
| Profession | Educator, First Lady of the United States (2021-2025) |
| Religion | Raised Presbyterian, regularly attends Catholic mass |
| Wedding | Married to Joe Biden in 1977 in a ceremony officiated by a Jesuit priest |
| Family Religion | The Bidens' family tree includes several interfaith branches, with Jewish spouses and children |
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What You'll Learn
Jill Biden's religious background
Jill Biden, the wife of former US President Joe Biden, has a religious background that has been the subject of some speculation. While some sources characterise her as a Catholic, others describe her as coming from a different faith but attending Catholic services with her husband.
Jill Biden was born Jill Tracy Jacobs in 1951 and grew up in Willow Grove, Pennsylvania. Her family has Sicilian ancestry, with her great-grandfather, Guytano Giacoppa, emigrating from Sicily and settling in the United States, where the family name was changed to Jacobs. While her husband, Joe Biden, is a well-known Catholic, Jill Biden's religious affiliation is less clear.
The nature of their wedding ceremony in religious terms is not publicly known. They were married in 1977 at the Chapel at the United Nations in New York City, in a ceremony officiated by a Jesuit priest. The chapel is known for accommodating couples of different religious backgrounds. An investigation by the Catholic World Report in 2023 could not determine whether the procedures for marriage in the Catholic Church were followed.
In her 2019 memoir, "Where the Light Enters", Jill Biden describes herself in Catholic settings with her husband and their children, but does not explicitly state that she is a Catholic. She generally talks about her faith in a personal sense. During the 2020 presidential campaign, her prayer partner was the wife of a Baptist pastor in South Carolina.
On a trip to Italy in 2021, Jill Biden drew connections to her Sicilian ancestry and Catholicism. She expressed her love for the country and described the visit as an escape and a comfort. She also met with Pope Francis at the Vatican, an experience she described as "wonderful". Despite this, the specific details of Jill Biden's religious background remain unclear, with her husband clarifying in a 2025 television appearance that she is a Presbyterian.
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The Bidens' wedding
Joe Biden and Jill Tracy Jacobs Biden have been married for almost 50 years. Joe Biden, then a 33-year-old US senator, and Jill Biden, then a 24-year-old college senior, first dated in March 1975. Joe Biden had to propose several times before Jill Biden accepted. They eventually married in June 1977, four-and-a-half years after the death of Joe Biden's first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, and their infant daughter, Naomi Christina Biden, in a motor vehicle accident.
While some sources have characterised the Bidens as a Catholic couple, others have described them as coming from different faiths but attending Catholic services together. It is unclear whether the Bidens' wedding was approved by the Catholic Church. An investigation by the Catholic World Report was unable to determine whether the procedures for marriage in the Catholic Church were followed. No Catholic wedding is recorded in the usual places for the Bidens in the Archdiocese of New York, where the ceremony took place. However, the chaplain of the chapel, Rev. Dr. Melvin Hawthorne, has stated that while the chapel does not have an official relationship with the United Nations, many people associated with the UN opt to marry there.
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Joe Biden's religious identity
Joe Biden is a Catholic. He is the second Catholic president in US history, after John F. Kennedy. Biden has referred to himself as a "devout Catholic", and his Catholic identity has been a topic of public discussion. He has also stated that he is an Irish Catholic, and has joked about his Catholic faith in relation to his daughter's marriage to a Jewish surgeon.
Biden's first wife was Neilia Hunter Biden, who passed away in a car accident in 1972, along with their infant daughter, Naomi Christina Biden. Biden later married Jill Tracy Jacobs in 1977. Their wedding was officiated by a Jesuit priest, and some sources have described it as a Catholic ceremony. However, the nature of the ceremony in religious terms is not publicly known, and an investigation by the Catholic World Report was unable to determine whether the procedures for marriage in the Catholic Church were followed.
Jill Biden was raised Presbyterian and has talked about her adult faith in a personal sense. She has regularly attended Catholic mass since marrying Joe Biden, and has accompanied him on visits to the Vatican. During the 2020 presidential campaign, her prayer partner was the wife of a Baptist pastor. On a 2025 appearance on the television program The View, Joe Biden corrected a host who stated that the couple were both Catholic, saying that Jill is a Presbyterian.
Joe Biden's family includes several interfaith branches, with his three children marrying Jewish spouses.
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The Biden family's religious diversity
Joe Biden is a Catholic and the second Catholic president of the United States. His first wife, Neilia Hunter Biden, was also Catholic. However, Biden's current wife, Jill Biden, was raised Presbyterian and has described her adult faith in general terms, without stating her denomination. While some sources characterise the couple as Catholics, others describe them as coming from different faiths but attending Catholic services together. During the 2020 presidential campaign, Jill's prayer partner was the wife of a Baptist pastor. On a 2025 episode of The View, Joe Biden corrected a host who said the couple were both Catholic, stating, "by the way, Jill's a Presbyterian".
The Bidens' wedding was held at the Chapel at the United Nations in New York City and was officiated by a Jesuit priest. The chapel is known for hosting marriages for couples of different faiths. An investigation by the Catholic World Report in 2023 could not determine whether the procedures for marriage in the Catholic Church were followed.
The Biden family includes several interfaith branches, with three of Joe Biden's children marrying Jewish spouses. Biden has joked about his Catholic and Jewish interfaith family, saying, "I'm the only Irish Catholic you know who had his dream met because his daughter married a Jewish surgeon".
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The couple's attendance at Catholic services
While some sources have characterized Joe and Jill Biden as a Catholic couple, others have described them as coming from different faiths but attending Catholic services together. Although Jill Biden was raised Presbyterian, she has regularly attended Catholic mass since marrying Joe Biden. Their wedding was officiated by a Jesuit priest, and the couple honeymooned in Hungary.
In 2025, Joe Biden corrected a host on the television program "The View" who said the couple were both Catholics, stating, “by the way, Jill's a Presbyterian." Jill Biden generally talks about her adult faith in a personal sense, and while her 2019 memoir, "Where the Light Enters," describes her in Catholic settings with her husband or their children, it does not state that she herself is a Catholic.
During their time in the White House, the Bidens travelled to Italy, where they met with Pope Francis. Of the 46 presidents in U.S. history, Joe Biden is the second Catholic, after John F. Kennedy. Jill Biden has described her audience with the pope as "wonderful." The trip to Italy was likely one of comfort, as the country is closely tied to the family's Catholic religion. While in Italy, Jill Biden expressed her love for the country, saying, "We come here so many times. I love Italy. Brigitte loves Italy. I mean, who could not love Italy? There's nothing that we wouldn't love about it, right?"
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Frequently asked questions
Yes, Joe Biden is Catholic. He is the second Catholic US President after John F. Kennedy.
Jill Biden was raised Presbyterian but has regularly attended Catholic mass since marrying Joe Biden. She has also described herself as having an adult faith. However, there is some ambiguity around her religious affiliation, with some sources describing her as Catholic and others reporting that she is not.
Joe and Jill Biden were married by a Jesuit priest at the Chapel at the United Nations in New York City. However, it is unclear whether the procedures for marriage in the Catholic Church were followed.
Yes, Joe Biden's family includes Jewish spouses. His daughter is married to a Jewish surgeon, and his son, Hunter Biden, is married to a Jewish documentary filmmaker and environmental activist.
