Jimmy Carter: a lifelong Christian and the first US president to host a Pope at the White House

Jimmy Carter, remembered as both a transformative leader and a tireless advocate for peace, has died at his home in Plains, Georgia. Born the year Vladimir Lenin died, he was the first US president to be born in a hospital and the first to live to 100. His life was remarkable, even for a US president.

He led the country as a member of the Democratic Party from 1977 to 1981, serving just one term in office before being defeated by Republican Ronald Reagan in one of the largest landslides in US history.

Carter, a lifelong Baptist, stood in contrast to Catholic teaching in many areas. A vocal proponent of the ordination of women to the priesthood, Carter described the Catholic Church’s decision to only ordain men as discriminating “against women in a very abusive fashion”. In 2000, when the Southern Baptist Convention voted to maintain its prohibition on female ordination, Carter wrote to some 75,000 Baptists, stating: “I have finally decided that, after 65 years, I can no longer be associated with the Southern Baptist Convention.”

However, Carter remains arguably the most Christian president of the United States, with his faith informing much of his actions.

Born on a peanut farm without electricity, marrying his sister’s friend after graduating from the US Naval Academy, and becoming a deacon at his local Baptist church, Carter’s early life exemplified resilience and strong family values—qualities that later shaped his approach to leadership and public service.

In 1966, the same year he lost the Democratic primary for the Georgia gubernatorial election, Carter helped Billy Graham organise an evangelistic outreach programme in Americus, Georgia. When Graham initially suggested the idea to community leaders in the city, he faced difficulty finding support, as he required events organised by his ministry to be racially integrated. Carter, already a long-time advocate for racial equality, had no such reservations, though he ended up organising the event in an abandoned school basement because he could not find a local church willing to host it. He later became an honorary chairman of the Billy Graham crusade.

Throughout his political career and on his path to the White House, Carter never shied away from his Christian faith. After Watergate and Vietnam, he was seen by many as a refreshingly principled politician. During his Inaugural Address in 1977, he quoted a passage from Micah, encouraging himself and others “to walk humbly with thy God”. In 1978, he negotiated the Camp David Accords, two political agreements signed by Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin, which led to the 1979 Egypt-Israel peace treaty. After the agreements were signed, Carter turned to the leaders and said, “Blessed are the peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9).

On October 6, 1979, during Pope John Paul II’s six-day tour of the US, Carter greeted the pontiff at the White House, becoming the first US president to do so. When the two met, they agreed to speak not as diplomats but as Christian brothers, with much of their conversation centring on human rights.

But, perhaps more than any other president, Carter will be remembered for his post-presidential work.

In 1982, he founded the Carter Center to advance human rights and promote peace globally, notably helping find a resolution to the Sudan-Uganda conflict by helping negotiate the Nairobi Agreement. Carter also personally negotiated with Kim Il-sung to freeze North Korea’s nuclear programme in 1994 and mediated negotiations between the Haitian military junta and the United States.

He spent much of his time supporting the charity Habitat for Humanity, helping build or renovate more than 4,000 homes in 14 countries. 

He also authored over 30 books. In his 1996 work, “Living Faith”, which serves as both a memoir and a spiritual guidebook, Carter reflected: “I have one life and one chance to make it count for something. My faith demands that I do whatever I can, wherever I am, whenever I can, for as long as I can with whatever I have to try to make a difference.”

As a testament to his unwavering commitment to the common good, Carter was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2002 for his decades-long efforts to promote peace, democracy, and human rights across the globe.

He always remained active in his church and taught weekly Sunday school classes until he was 95.

Carter’s wife, Rosalynn Carter, died in November 2023. He is survived by his four children, 11 grandchildren, and 11 great-grandchildren.

(Pope John Paul II and Jimmy Carter meet journalists on 6 October 1979 at the White House, Washington.)

The post Jimmy Carter: a lifelong Christian and the first US president to host a Pope at the White House first appeared on Catholic Herald.

The post Jimmy Carter: a lifelong Christian and the first US president to host a Pope at the White House appeared first on Catholic Herald.