A parishioner told the Associated Press that she was “gobsmacked” to see the Bidens at Mass in the town with a population of around 12,000 people.
“It’s quite amazing, we went into the church and they took some details from us and I thought this is a bit unusual,” said Annie Fitzpatrick.
"About 10 minutes into the service the doors opened up and President Biden and Dr. Jill Biden walked in and just sat in the pew just across from me.”
The reports did not touch on whether Biden received Holy Communion -- a topic of considerable controversy given his stance on abortion.
According to the parish newsletter, the Mass intention was for the G7 summit.
The newsletter included an appeal to the congregation to contact their local MP to urge the U.K. government to revoke a temporary measure allowing women up to 10 weeks pregnant to take both abortion pills at home. The measure was introduced at the start of the coronavirus pandemic.
Another parishioner told the AP that Biden appeared to make a “very generous donation” to the church before he left.
As he exited, Biden described the church as “beautiful.”
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