The Atlantic A Catholic Sinner Seeks Communion—And Happens to Be President Some bishops—and many conservative laypeople—think Joe Biden should be denied access to one of the faith’s most important sacraments. Getty / Adam Maida / The Atlantic Father Kevin Gillespie and the staff at Holy Trinity Catholic Church find out that President Joe Biden is coming to Mass an hour and a half ahead of time. For security reasons, only a few people can know, including the music director, who might otherwise get suspicious when Secret Service agents start poking around in her piano. The parish limits its services to 50 people to minimize the spread of COVID-19, but it makes an exception when the president and his detail attend. The first time Biden came, everyone applauded his arrival, but then he took his spot in an out-of-the-way pew. When it was time to receive Communion, he got in line like any other parishioner. And afterward, he knelt before God.