Less than two weeks before the Nov. 3 midterm elections, a group of Catholic bishops gathered around President Donald Trump in the Oval Office on Thursday, Oct. 22, and prayed over him, a moment captured on video and shared by the White House.
The video, posted by Margo Martin, a special assistant to the president and communications adviser, carried the caption: “Catholic Archbishops and Bishops pray with President Trump in the Oval Office ❤️.” Trump’s campaign account on X also shared it.
“We lift up our president today”
In the video, Trump is seated as several bishops stand around him, some resting a hand on him in a gesture of prayer and blessing. Denver Archbishop James R. Golka, standing at the president’s right, led the prayer, thanking God for the nation, its government and the presidency.
“We lift up our president today, ask your blessing upon him,” Golka prayed, according to the National Catholic Reporter. Invoking Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit, he asked the Spirit to “surround our country” and “protect us against any influence of evil.”
Paula White-Cain, Trump’s longtime spiritual adviser and a senior adviser to the White House Faith Office, was also standing nearby.
What the Archdiocese of Denver said
The Archdiocese of Denver confirmed the meeting in a statement published Thursday. It said Golka “joined fellow Roman Catholic bishops in meeting with President Trump and led a prayer in the Oval Office, asking God’s blessing upon the president and our nation,” and that his prayer expressed gratitude for “our beautiful nation.”
“With respect for the office of the president, the Archdiocese of Denver welcomes continued conversation on the sanctity of life, from conception to natural death, and the God-given dignity of every person,” the statement continued. “We invite the faithful to pray for our nation and its leaders, trusting in Christ’s mercy and guidance.”
The archdiocese also noted that praying for those in public office is a long Catholic practice, rooted in St. Paul’s instruction in 1 Timothy 2:1-2 to pray for all who hold authority, and said it is not an endorsement of any specific candidate or party.
Not everyone was happy
The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops told the National Catholic Reporter that it did not organize the gathering and is not affiliated with it. Some critics on the left, including a Villanova University theology professor quoted by the outlet, argued that bishops should not appear alongside the president so close to an election.
The identities of every bishop in the room have not been publicly confirmed.
Why it matters
The moment comes as both parties battle for Catholic voters in the final stretch before the midterms. An October Pew Research Center survey cited by the National Catholic Reporter found 42% of Catholic registered voters favoring Democratic House candidates and 39% favoring Republicans, with 19% undecided or backing someone else.
For millions of believers, though, the image of church leaders laying hands on the president and asking God to protect the country was a powerful reminder of a tradition as old as the faith itself: praying for those who lead the nation.