Warnock to meet with Pope Francis this weekend

ATLANTA, Ga. (Atlanta News First) - One of Georgia’s two U.S. senators is set to meet with one of the world’s most renowned religious leaders.

Sen. Raphael Warnock, a religious leader in his own right, will meet with Pope Francis for a papal audience in Vatican City on Saturday.

Warnock’s office said the senator is looking forward to discussing “how the Pope models his faith in the public square.”

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“He deeply ires the Pope’s efforts to center humanity in public life — from addressing poverty and hunger, to fighting the climate crisis, to promoting peace,” Warnock’s office said in a news release. “The senator hopes to hear from the Pope how he uses his Christian faith to build bridges amid the growing divisions in our society.”

Warnock is also expected to take part in several meetings “designed to aid his work on behalf of Georgia” through several Senate committees, including the U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry, his office said.

Warnock is the senior pastor of Atlanta’s Ebenezer Baptist Church — which was also Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s church.