Rubio gets emotional during pope’s speech

Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), a 2016 contender, teared up during Pope Francis’s address to a joint session of Congress on Thursday when the pontiff spoke about immigrants.

“We the people of this continent are not fearful of foreigners because most of us were once foreigners,” Francis said to a standing ovation.

{mosads}”I say this to you as the son of immigrants, knowing that so many of you are also the descendants of immigrants,” Francis said, as C-SPAN’s camera cut to Rubio.

The son of Cuban immigrants and a Catholic, Rubio smiled and appeared to blink back tears before wiping his eye. His campaign uploaded a video of the moment online shortly after Francis finished his speech.

Rubio has taken a more centrist position on the issue than many of his rivals in the presidential race. In 2013, he was one of the Senate’s Gang of Eight, who drafted a comprehensive immigration reform package that sparked conservative ire. Since then, he has pushed for a piecemeal approach to reform.

Other GOP candidates also attended Francis’s speech, including retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, and Sens. Ted Cruz (Texas), Lindsey Graham (S.C.) and Rand Paul (Ky.).

Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was also in attendance, while Vice President Biden, who is mulling a bid, sat behind Francis during the speech.