Podcast: President Biden’s Very Catholic Inauguration

JesuiticalJanuary 22, 2021

Joe Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the United States by Chief Justice John Roberts as Biden's wife, Jill, holds the family Bible during his inauguration at the Capitol in Washington Jan. 20, 2021. (CNS photo/Kevin Lamarque, Reuters)

On Wednesday, Jan. 20, Joe Biden was sworn in as the 46th president of the United States, only the second Catholic ever to hold the office.

Zac and Ashley are joined by Matt Malone, S.J., to discuss their reactions to President Biden’s inauguration—including the prayers offered by other Jesuits throughout the day. Father Malone is the editor in chief of America, worked in politics before joining the Jesuits and brings a historical and personal eye to the events of the week.

We’re happy to report that Pope Francis, Pope Emeritus Benedict and guests at the Vatican’s homeless shelter all received a vaccine for Covid-19, even as the Catholic Church, like the rest of the world, continues to lose leaders to the virus.

Please consider supporting the show by subscribing to America, or by pledging on our Patreon page.

Links from the show:

Pope Francis sends greeting to President Biden, contrasting with sharper message from head of U.S. bishops
Joe Biden begins Inauguration Day with Mass
Read: The Invocation at the Inauguration of President Joe Biden
Joe Biden knows the grief of losing family—and how our pain can have a purpose.
Watch: Matt Malone, S.J., interviews Joe Biden

What’s on tap?

Cape Codder: Vodka and cranberry juice.

More: Joseph R. Biden Jr. / Catholic Identity

Jesuitical

A podcast from the young, hip and lay editors of America Media. Hosted by Ashley McKinless and Zac Davis.

@jesuiticalshow

Provide feedback on this article

form.antibot * :not(.antibot-message) { display: none !important; }You must have JavaScript enabled to use this form.

We don’t have comments turned on everywhere anymore. We have recently relaunched the commenting experience at America and are aiming for a more focused commenting experience with better moderation by opening comments on a select number of articles each day.

But we still want your feedback. You can join the conversation about this article with us in social media on Twitter or Facebook, or in one of our Facebook discussion groups for various topics.

Or send us feedback on this article with one of the options below:

We welcome and read all letters to the editor but, due to the volume received, cannot guarantee a response.

In order to be considered for publication, letters should be brief (around 200 words or less) and include the author’s name and geographic location. Letters may be edited for length and clarity.

We open comments only on select articles so that we can provide a focused and well-moderated discussion on interesting topics. If you think this article provides the opportunity for such a discussion, please let us know what you'd like to talk about, or what interesting question you think readers might want to respond to.

If we decide to open comments on this article, we will email you to let you know.

If you have a message for the author, we will do our best to pass it along. Note that if the article is from a wire service such as Catholic News Service, Religion News Service, or the Associated Press, we will not have direct contact information for the author. We cannot guarantee a response from any author.

We welcome any information that will help us improve the factual accuracy of this piece. Thank you.

Please consult our Contact Us page for other options to reach us.

Email address

Please provide an email address so that we can contact you about your feedback if necessary.

Full name

Location

City and state/province, or if outside Canada or the U.S., city and country.

When you click submit, this article page will reload. You should see a message at the top of the reloaded page confirming that your feedback has been received.

Most popular

Catholic Films for the Fourth of July

Sean Salai

Should we sing patriotic songs at Mass? Probably not.

James Martin, S.J.

The Catholic nun who brought faith and social justice to New York’s airwaves for over 50 years

Helene Stapinski

Pedro Arrupe, Hiroshima and the Sacred Heart

Dawn Eden Goldstein

The race to claim Pope Leo

Sam Sawyer, S.J.

Your source for jobs, books, retreats, and much more.

IVC is hiring in Baltimore!

Jobs

Teaching Religion to Adolescents – An Online Course

Spiritual Resources

The Journey Continues – Online Supervision for Spiritual Directors

Spiritual Direction

Director of Worship and Music

Jobs

Teaching Religion to Children – An Online Course

Spiritual Resources

The latest from america

Pope Leo appoints French archbishop to succeed Cardinal O’Malley as president of Pontifical Commission for Protection of Minors

Pope Leo XIV has appointed the French archbishop of Chambéry, Thibault Verny, as the new president of the Pontifical Commission for the Protection of Minors. He succeeds Cardinal Seán O’Malley, 81, the emeritus archbishop of Boston.

Gerard O’ConnellJuly 05, 2025

U.S. House Speaker Mike Johnson, R-La., speaks with other members of the House July 3, 2025, on Capitol Hill in Washington after final passage of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping spending and tax bill. (OSV News photo/Jonathan Ernst, Reuters)

Trump’s ‘big beautiful bill’ will mean more hunger for low-income families

“Deep cuts” to SNAP and Medicaid will “inflict real suffering on these families…. SNAP and Medicaid are not luxuries, they are lifelines for millions of children across our country.”

Kevin ClarkeJuly 03, 2025