President Trump and first lady Melania Trump on Tuesday are set to visit the Saint John Paul II National Shrine, a day after Trump visited an Episcopal church burned during riots.
The Trumps will be accompanied by Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, according to the State Department.
The Saint John Paul II National Shrine is dedicated to the memory of a pope best remembered in the United States for fighting against communism, especially in his native Poland. It could not be reached for comment regarding the Trump visit.
Trump has in the past expressed admiration for John Paul II, tweeting a picture of the pope on his 100th birthday in May.
The visit is already drawing criticism from some Catholic leaders, with John Stowe, bishop of the diocese in Lexington, Kentucky, tweeting that he hopes someone at the church will preach on a scene from the gospel where Christ’s enemies are “called out for their hypocrisy.”
Trump, on Monday, visited St. John’s, a historic Episcopal church located right behind the White House. The president stood in front of the church, boarded up because of a fire, and held a Bible in the air. Beforehand, Secret Service cleared the area nearby the church using tear gas.
The moment drew much praise from the president’s supporters but much criticism from his detractors, with many upset that the White House had used tear gas on the protesters.
The Episcopal bishop of D.C., Mariann Budde, said she was “outraged” by Trump’s visit.
