President Joe Biden was spotted leaving Holy Trinity Catholic Church in Washington, D.C.’s Georgetown neighborhood on Sunday, following his first attendance at Mass since taking office.
In attendance with Biden was his son, Hunter, and and two of his grandchildren, Finnegan and Maisy. The president, in a brief exchange with reporters, said the service was “lovely.”
Holy Trinity, located just a few miles from the White House, is where the nation’s first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, often went to Mass and where Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president, frequently worshipped when he was vice president.
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White House press secretary Jen Psaki told reporters on Friday that Biden had not yet settled on a home church in the nation’s capital, but said that she expected Biden will continue to regularly attend services during his presidency.Biden has plenty of parish choices in Washington to choose from, with four Catholic churches sitting within 2 miles of the White House.
At home in Delaware, Biden and his wife, Jill, were regulars at St. Joseph on the Brandywine in Greenville. They alternated between the Saturday and Sunday services depending on their travel schedules throughout the 2020 campaign.
In addition, Biden and his family, along with Democratic and Republican leaders of Congress, attended a service at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle on the morning of Biden’s inauguration Wednesday. The church hosted Kennedy’s funeral service in 1963.
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Following Sunday’s church service, the Biden men were also spotted at Call Your Mother Deli. Biden remained in his armored vehicle while Hunter picked up the order, according to WUSA9.
“What a GREAT Sunday surprise! Thrilled to have an admin again who will love all that DC has to offer — starting with sesame bagels!!,” the popular bagel shop wrote on Twitter. “Come back anytime@JoeBiden.”
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Hunter’s appearance with his father comes as the president’s son is under a federal investigation by the Justice Department related to his finances.
A government source told FOX News in December that the federal probe was predicated in part, by Suspicious Activity Reports (SARs) regarding suspicious foreign transactions that another source said were related to transactions involving China and other foreign countries.
In December, Hunter Biden acknowledged the probe but maintained he handled his affairs “legally.”
“I take this matter very seriously but I am confident that a professional and objective review of these matters will demonstrate that I handled my affairs legally and appropriately, including with the benefit of professional tax advisors,” he said at the time.
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Biden will likely continue to see small crowds wherever he goes as the coronavirus contines to surge in the capital city. For the time being, rules in the District of Columbia limit gatherings at houses of worship to 25% of capacity or 250 people, whichever is less.
Previous presidents have made a wide variety of worship choices — or none. Not far from the White House is New York Avenue Presbyterian, which maintains the pew where Abraham Lincoln once worshipped. Even closer is St. John’s Episcopal Church, walkable across Lafayette Square from the White House for the presidents who have made a historic practice of worshipping there at least once.
St. John’s was thrust into the headlines this summer when police forcibly dispersed protesters so President Donald Trump could pose with a Bible outside its butter-yellow front doors. But its status as the “Church of Presidents” dates to James Madison, and it’s accustomed to the special scrutiny that comes with hosting commanders in chief. Trump, who frequently spent Sundays at his namesake golf club in northern Virginia, was not a regular churchgoer.
President Bill Clinton and his wife, Hillary, became members of Foundry United Methodist Church, a short drive from the White House that also counted the 19th president, Rutherford. B. Hayes, as a member.
President Jimmy Carter, who in post presidency life taught Sunday school, worshipped dozens of times at Washington’s First Baptist Church during his time in the White House.
Fox News’ Ronn Blitzer, Brooke Singman and The Associated Press contributed to this report.