Bidens attend grandson’s confirmation

President Biden and first lady Jill Biden on Sunday attended the confirmation of their grandson Robert “Hunter” Biden, the White House told reporters.

Robert Biden is the son of the president’s late son, Beau Biden, who died of brain cancer in 2015.

The first family left their longtime church, St. Joseph on the Brandywine, around 2 p.m. After the service, Jill Biden took a bouquet of flowers to the side of the church where their family graves are located, including Beau Biden’s.

After taking photos and talking at the front of the church, the rest of the Biden family appeared to join the first lady at the gravesite.

President Biden is the second Catholic to hold the U.S. presidency, after former President Kennedy. He has regularly spoken of the importance of his faith, once calling it the “bedrock foundation of my life.”

President Biden, first lady and family depart church where grandson Hunter (Beau’s son) received sacrament of Confirmation. The president greeted other parishioners and posed for some photos in Wilmington. pic.twitter.com/k7tDhIIou2

— Kelly O’Donnell (@KellyO) April 18, 2021

The president has credited his faith with helping him through the losses of his first wife, Neilia Biden, and his infant daughter, Naomi, who died in a car accident in 1972 that also left his two sons, Beau and Hunter Biden, severely injured and hospitalized.

Jill Biden has said that her own faith in the church was shaken for several years following the death of Beau Biden.

During a 2019 appearance on “The View,” the first lady said, “I know Joe’s faith has helped him through [Beau Biden’s death]. … My faith was shaken. We all handle grief in very different ways.”

She said a visit to a Black church in South Carolina later inspired her to return to the church.

On Election Day in 2020, the Bidens attended mass and visited the graves of family members before closing out their presidential campaign.