Read President Joseph R. Biden's Inaugural Address.

In a message to the second Catholic president, Pope Francis prayed that Joe Biden would work to heal the divisions in U.S. society and promote human dignity and peace around the globe.

At the inauguration of the second Catholic president in U.S. history, Jesuit Father Leo O’Donovan asked God to “help us under our new president to reconcile the people of our land.”

“My deepest prayer for you today, as a priest, citizen and friend, is that you always remember that the Lord is near.”

Hours before his inauguration, President-elect Joe Biden, his family, friends and congressional leaders of both parties gathered for Mass at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle.

Cardinal Dolan said President-elect Joe Biden “speaks with admirable sensitivity about protecting the rights of the weakest and most threatened” but also “ran on a platform avidly supporting this gruesome capital punishment for innocent preborn babies.”