Pope Francis congratulates Biden on election win during phone conversation

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President-elect Biden conducts calls with foreign leaders

President-elect Joe Biden receives congratulatory calls from foreign leaders; Gillian Turner reports.

Joe Biden and Pope Francis held a phone conversation on Thursday, as the pontiff became the latest world leader to congratulate the president-elect on his projected win over President Trump.

A statement from Biden’s transition team said that “the president-elect thanked His Holiness for extending blessings and congratulations and noted his appreciation for His Holiness' leadership in promoting peace, reconciliation, and the common bonds of humanity around the world.”

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The statement also highlighted that the former vice president expressed his "desire to work together on the basis of a shared belief in the dignity and equality of all humankind on issues such as caring for the marginalized and the poor, addressing the crisis of climate change, and welcoming and integrating immigrants and refugees into our communities.”

Biden is only the second Catholic to win election to the U.S. presidency, following Democrat John F. Kennedy in 1960.

Pope Francis is joined by then-Vice President Joseph Biden after addressing Congress on his first U.S. visit. (Photo by Mindy Schauer/Digital First Media/Orange County Register via Getty Images)

As vice president in 2013, Biden headed up the U.S. delegation to Pope Francis’ inaugural mass. Two years later, the vice president accompanied the pope as he made multiple stops during a visit to the U.S. Biden also met with the pope again at a major conference at the Vatican in 2016.

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Biden spotlighted his Catholic faith during his White House run, at times reciting scripture. And he was known to carry rosary beads in his pocket.

Biden carried the Catholic vote 52%-47% over President Trump, according to exit polls from last week’s election. That marks a reversal from the 2016 election, when Trump edged Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton 50%-46% among Catholics, according to exit polls.