Tearful Biden meets priest in Ireland who gave son last rites

U.S. President Joe Biden reacts before a plaque with his son Beau's name as he visits Mayo Roscommon Hospice in Castlebar, County Mayo, Ireland, April 14, 2023. REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque

BALLINA, Ireland (Reuters) -U.S. President Joe Biden broke down in tears on Friday after a chance meeting at an Irish church with the priest who performed the last rites on his son Beau, a priest who accompanied Biden during the visit said.

Father Richard Gibbons, who led Biden on a tour of the Catholic shrine of Knock, said he had not known that one of his colleagues, ex-U.S. Army chaplain Father Frank O'Grady, had performed the sacrament until the president arrived.