Archbishop Regrets Trump Prayer Photo, Saying White House 'Manipulated' Sacred Moment Without Bishops' Consent

Milwaukee Archbishop Jeffrey Grob has publicly apologised for joining a group of Catholic bishops photographed praying over Donald Trump in the Oval Office, accusing the White House of turning the moment into a political photo opportunity.

Grob said the bishops never gave permission for the photos or a video of the prayer to be made public. The video and photographs were published less than two weeks before the US midterm elections.

A second bishop, William Joensen of Des Moines, said the White House had exploited the gathering for partisan purposes.

Archbishop Issues Public Apology

Grob posted a statement titled 'A Public Apology' on the Archdiocese of Milwaukee website on Sunday, 25 October 2026.

He said he understood why the photo had caused concern, coming as it did in the run-up to a national election. He apologised for the confusion, anger and hurt his participation had caused.

'I did not go without reservations. I wish I had heeded them,' he wrote. 'I apologize for any damage my actions have done.'

Grob insisted the meeting was 'in no way an endorsement' of the president, his policies or his party. He said the bishops had gone to pray with a president, 'not to pose for a political photo opportunity'.

He described the prayer as a sacred moment that should not have been manipulated in that way. 'We should never have been put in that position by the White House,' he wrote.

Archbishop Says Bishops Did Not Consent to Publication

According to Grob's account, 12 bishops attended the meeting at the White House on Thursday, 22 October. It was arranged by the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank, and was the second such gathering. Grob said he had not been invited to the first, held in June.

He was invited in mid-September to discuss immigration enforcement, religious worker visas and human dignity. The bishops held a 90-minute discussion with White House domestic policy staff before being taken into the Oval Office.

Trump greeted them, sat at his desk and handed out commemorative tokens. The bishops were then asked to stand behind him and pray, and photographs were taken afterwards. Grob said a video was also recorded without the bishops' knowledge.

'Permission for the public distribution or posting of either the video or photos was not given by the bishops,' he wrote. He said the White House later posted both.

Grob said the bishops had been told the meeting would be a private discussion, the Associated Press reported. The AP said the invitation also listed abortion and federal tax credits for private education among the topics.

Of the 12 bishops present, Grob and Joensen were the two who had publicly expressed regret, the Associated Press reported on Sunday. Both said the White House had used a private moment of prayer for political ends in the final stretch of the campaign.

Joensen issued his own statement on Sunday. He said the White House had taken advantage of the bishops. 'I wish I had been more shrewd and less simple,' he wrote, adding that he remained open to praying for political leaders.

Joensen said the gathering had been 'exploited' for 'partisan political purposes', the National Catholic Reporter reported. He also wrote that many things associated with the administration were 'blatantly at odds with our Catholic faith'.

White House Defends Trump's Catholic Record

The White House press office declined to say if it had obtained the bishops' consent before releasing the images, according to the AP.

Spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said: 'There has never been a greater president for Catholic Americans than President Trump, and his strong record proves it.'

Denver Archbishop James Golka led the prayer over the seated president, The Letters from Leo reported. Golka told the Denver Catholic that the meeting was not meant as a political endorsement, according to the National Catholic Reporter.

The image also drew criticism from Rome. A senior official at the Vatican's Dicastery for Bishops, speaking on background to The Letters from Leo, called it 'a highly inappropriate meeting and an insult to Pope Leo'. The Letters from Leo reported no formal statement from the Vatican.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops told the National Catholic Reporter it played no role in arranging the meeting, The Letters from Leo reported.

US bishops hold a wide range of views on Trump's policies, the AP noted. It pointed out that Bishop Robert Barron agreed to serve on Trump's Religious Liberty Commission, while other bishops have condemned the administration's immigration enforcement as contrary to Catholic teaching.

Neither Grob nor Joensen named the other bishops who attended. The Letters from Leo, citing the Catholic commentator Rocco Palmo, identified Bishop Edward Burns of Dallas, Bishop Scott Bullock of Rapid City and retired Archbishop Joseph Naumann of Kansas City in Kansas among those in the frame.