President Trump and First Lady Melania Depart White House for Pope Funer...

Melania Trump reveals she is Catholic

Melania reveals she is Catholic: The First Lady shares her faith with the world after meeting the Pope and spending time praying for sick children at hospital in Rome

• 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

By David Martosko, Us Political Editor For Dailymail.com In Brussels

Published: 17:45 EDT, 24 May 2017 | Updated: 04:03 EDT, 25 May 2017



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.

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


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

Here's Why Melania Trump Wore Black To Meet The Pope

President Donald Trump met a sad-looking Pope Francis at the Vatican on Wednesday, along with his wife, Melania, daughter Ivanka and others.


Melania and Ivanka both wore black dresses with long sleeves and black veils (Melania’s dress was Dolce & Gabbana, a possible nod to the host country). Although Pope Francis has not enforced traditional dress code rules for women at private Vatican audiences as strictly as his predecessors did, both women kept to old-school protocol.

This traditional rule holds that most women wear long black dresses with sleeves and mantillas, and only a very select handful of women enjoy an exception. These ladies have the “privilège du blanc,” or “privilege of the white,” which means they’re allowed to wear white if they choose. According to the World Heritage Encyclopedia, the queens of Italy, Belgium and Spain, grand duchesses of Luxembourg, and princesses of the House of Savoy are automatically allowed to exercise the “privilège du blanc.”

There’s a common theme: Those are all Catholic royal houses, though not all Catholic royals automatically enjoy the privilege. And modern first ladies, at least, have strictly adhered to the traditional mandate.

“Per Vatican protocol, women who have an audience with the Pope are required to wear long sleeves, formal black clothing, and a veil to cover the head,” the first lady’s communications director, Stephanie Grisham, told CNN in a statement.

© Vatican Pool - Corbis via Getty Images President Trump, wife Melania Trump and daughter Ivanka Trump meet with Pope Francis, on May 24 in Vatican City, Vatican.