On Wednesday, January 20, Joe Biden was inaugurated as 46th President of the United States. His running mate, Vice President Kamala Harris is not only the first woman, but first biracial woman to hold the position. President Biden is also the second Catholic to hold office, the first being John F. Kennedy.
Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. was born November 20, 1942 in Scranton, PA. At the age of 10, his family moved to Claymont, DE, living there a few years before settling in Wilmington, DE. He attended Archmere Academy in Claymont for high school, a private, Catholic college-preparatory high school founded by the Norbertine Order.
In high school, Joe Biden demonstrated natural leadership ability and charisma. He excelled on the football field as a halfback and wide receiver and was class president his junior and senior year. While he was not the most impressive student, he did go on to attend the University of Delaware as well as Syracuse University (where he earned his law degree).
The first Abbot at Daylesford Abbey, Abbot Pennings, sent his fellow Norbertines to start Archmere Academy. While Daylesford Abbey’s direct involvement with the school has since come to an end (however Father John Zagarella still teaches theology classes at Archmere), they still ran the school at the time Joe Biden attended, which may have laid the groundwork for his future vision as the president.
The Norbertines were founded by St. Norbert (of Xanten) in 1120. St. Norbert founded this religious order to bring about renewal in the clergy and to repair the schisms he observed within the clergy. Today, the Norbertine vocation and the charism of the order is focused on bringing healing and reconciliation. Norbertines serve as religious brothers and ordained priests, ministering to the Catholic Church and the world while grounded in a spirit of communio… a common life centered on contemplation, common prayer and the Eucharist.