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.”

Washington Cardinal Wilton D. Gregory offered the invocation at a pre-inauguration memorial service Jan. 19 to honor and remember the more than 400,000 Americans who have succumbed to COVID-19.

In 2015, Father Leo O’Donovan presided over the funeral Mass for Beau Biden following his death from brain cancer. Tomorrow, he will deliver the invocation at Joe Biden’s inauguration.