After prostate cancer diagnosis, Delaware diocese offers prayers of intercession for Biden

WILMINGTON, Del. (OSV News) — Former U.S. President Joe Biden, the nation’s second Catholic president and a Wilmington resident, revealed May 18 that he has been diagnosed with prostate cancer and it has metastasized to his bones.

He and his family are reviewing treatment options, his office said.

“As Catholics, we are called to carry out Christ’s charge to ‘heal the sick’ by caring for those who are ill and accompanying them in their time of suffering through prayers of intercession,” said Robert G. Krebs, communications director for the Diocese of Wilmington. “The church believes in the life-giving presence of Christ, the physician of souls and bodies, and wishes the former president a rapid return to health.”

“Last week, President Joe Biden was seen for a new finding of a prostate nodule after experiencing increasing urinary symptoms. On Friday, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, characterized by a Gleason score of 9 (Grade Group 5) with metastasis to the bone,” a statement from Biden’s personal office said May 18.

It continued, “While this represents a more aggressive form of the disease, the cancer appears to be hormone-sensitive which allows for effective management.”

A statement was published May 19 on Biden’s page on the social media platform X.

“Cancer touches us all,” Biden said. “Like so many of you, Jill and I have learned that we are strongest in the broken places. Thank you for lifting us up with love and support.”

Born in Scranton, Pennsylvania, on Nov. 20, 1942, a young Joe Biden moved with his family to Delaware in 1953, and he has spent the majority of his life in the mid-Atlantic state.

He represented Delaware in the U.S. Senate from 1973 to 2009. He was the nation’s 47th vice president, serving under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2017. He was elected president in 2020 and ran for reelection in 2024, until he withdrew from the race. His vice president, Kamala Harris, became the Democratic presidential nominee, but she lost to President Donald Trump Nov. 5, 2024.

Biden’s home parish is St. Joseph on the Brandywine in Wilmington, but while in office he intermittently attended Mass at Holy Trinity near Georgetown University.

This story was originally published by The Dialog, the news outlet of the Diocese of Wilmington, and distributed through a partnership with OSV News.