Melania Trump reveals she is Catholic: The First Lady shares her faith with the world after meeting the Pope as the first Catholic to live in White House since JFK
- Melania Trump's spokeswoman confirms that she's a Catholic
- The first lady met with Pope Francis on Wednesday at the Vatican, where he blessed a rosary for her
- Then she went to a Vatican-affiliated pediatric hospital where she met with children, prayed in a chapel and laid flowers at the feet of a statue of Mary
- One boy she met, who needed a donor heart, will get his organ transplant, the hospital learned just hours after Melania's visit
- It's unclear when Melania became a Catholic or when she was baptized
- She and her sister weren't baptized as infants and didn't make their First Holy Communion along with other kids their age
- Her father was a member of the Communist Party in Slovenia in order to work, and the party was official atheist
- Melania opened a February presidential rally in Florida by surprising the president with a recitation of the Lord's Prayer
When Melania Trump recited The Lord's Prayer before a Melbourne, Florida presidential rally in February, the Internet went hog wild.
Now we know one reason why the first lady began with 'Let us pray' and 'Our Father who art in heaven' when she introduced the president that evening: She's a practicing Roman Catholic.
Her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham confirmed that to DailyMail.com on Wednesday, hours after Pope Francis blessed a rosary for her at the Vatican.
The last Catholics to live in the White House were John F. Kennedy and his wife Jackie. Melania and her son Barron will move to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue over the summer.
Mrs. Trump did more than just show up for a Papal audience.
She spent time in prayer at the Vatican-affiliated Bambino Gesù (Baby Jesus) Hospital, and laid flowers at the feet of a statue of the Madonna.
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Pope Francis blessed a rosary as first lady Melania Trump held it in her hand Wednesday, during a meeting at the Vatican; DailyMail.com can reveal that she is a practicing Catholic
Melania prayed in front of a statue of the Virgin Mary on Wednesday at the Bambino Gesù children's hospital in Rome
The Trumps spoke with the Pontiff, and Melania told him she was looking forward to visiting the hospital 'for the bambinos'
Mrs. Trump also prayed in the hospital's chapel on Wednesday
She also prayed in the hospital chapel and read to a young Greek boy in need of a donor heart – holding his hand in the Intensive Care Unit while camera shutters snapped.
The almighty may have heard her.
'Upon landing in Belgium, I learned a young boy and his family who had been waiting for a heart transplant was informed that the hospital has found a donor,' she said in a statement.
'I read a book and held hands with this special little one just a few hours ago, and now my own heart is filled with joy over this news.'
The first lady later tweeted about the development with the hashtags '#Blessings' and '#Faith.'
In another tweet, she sent 'blessings to all' after her Papal audience.
Mrs. Trump told Pope Francis at the Vatican that she was looking forward to going to the hospital 'for the bambinos.' She later called the visit 'very moving.'
'To spend time speaking to and coloring with children who have such a positive spirit despite illness was an amazing gift,' she said.
'The time I spent with the little ones in the Intensive Care Unit is something I will never forget, and I will pray for each of them daily.'
Mystery solved: Melania surprised a Melbourne, Florida crowd in February when she opened her introduction of her husband by reciting the Lord's Prayer
The first lady hugged a young boy in need of a heart transplant at the hospital on Wednesday
Hours later she learned that doctors had found a donor organ for the child
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It's unclear when Mrs. Trump became a Catholic. The president is a life-long Presbyterian, and they were married in a Florida Episcopal church.
Growing up as the daughter of a Communist Party member in rural Slovenia, her family maintained the outward appearances of being atheists, according to people in her childhood village of Sevnica who spoke to DailyMail.com in late 2015.
Accordingly, Melania and her sister were not baptized and did not make their First Holy Communion with other children their age.
It's still not clear when Mrs. Trump was baptized into the Catholic faith. Grisham did not immediately respond to a question about that detail.
But the Trumps have been in a reflective religious mood since arriving in Saudi Arabia last Saturday. That frame of mind persisted throughout their time in Israel.
Mrs. Trump spent part of the afternoon coloring with the kids and praised their 'positive spirit despite illness'
Message: This was the
The president addressed 55 world leaders from Arab and other Muslim-majority nations in Riyadh, imploring them to be part of 'a coalition of nations who share the aim of stamping out extremism and providing our children a hopeful future that does honor to God.'
In Jerusalem he visited the famed Western Wall, slipping a written prayer between the centuries-old stones as custom permits.
He 'marveled at the monument to God's presence and man's perseverance,' he said Tuesday in a speech at the Israel Museum.
'I was humbled to place my hand upon the wall and to pray in that holy space for wisdom from God,' Trump told an audience of Jewish officials.
'This city, like no other place in the world, reveals the longing of the human heart – to know and worship God.'
Much of Melania's early religious history is unclear; people in her native Slovenian village of Sevnica say her Communist Party-enrolled father didn't have her baptized or sponsor her First Communion, in keeping with the atheist appearances of the communists
The Trumps were married in 205 at Bethesda-by-the-Sea Episcopal Church in Palm Beach, Florida, and the president is a life-long Presbyterian, suggesting that her Catholic conversion has come in the last 12 years
Trump issued a proclamation on Wednesday calling for a national 'day of prayer for permanent peace' on May 29, the upcoming Memorial Day holiday.
'On this ceremonious day, we remember the fallen, we pray for a lasting peace among nations, and we honor these guardians of our inalienable rights,' he said.
'I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer. I urge the press, radio, television, and all other information media to cooperate in this observance,' Trump added.
Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-4539392/Melania-Catholic-White-House-Kennedy.html#ixzz4i6JhraYC
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