What Went Down During Joe Biden’s Inauguration

Biden is sworn in on his family’s 5-inch-thick, 127-year-old bible.

Jennifer Lopez sings a medley of “This Land Is Your Land” and “America The Beautiful” — two songs that sometimes get mentioned as possible alternatives to “The Star-Spangled Banner” as a national anthem.

A significant “second” this morning — Biden will be the country’s second Roman Catholic president. (The other, of course, was President John F. Kennedy.) His Catholicism is a big part of his personal identity and his political worldview, and he attends mass every Sunday. He also attended a pre-inauguration mass this morning. It’s worth noting, though, that he’s not exactly popular with some conservative Catholic leaders because of his stance on issues like abortion. And he could end up on the other side of legal battles from the Catholic Church during his presidency on issues like religious exemptions in health care and hiring (where he’ll also be up against a solidly conservative, majority-Catholic Supreme Court).