On Monday, January 20th, President-elect Donald Trump (Trump) and soon-to-be First Lady Melania Trump, along with Vice President-elect JD Vance and his wife Usha Vance, attended a worship service near the White House at St. John’s Episcopal Church.
The tradition of attending a worship service on Inauguration Day dates back to 1933 during Franklin D. Roosevelt’s inauguration. Since then, this service has mostly been held at St. John’s Episcopal Church. However, in 2021, President Joe Biden chose to attend the morning worship service at St. Matthew’s Cathedral.
Trump and the Vance couple kicked off their day at Lafayette Square’s St. John’s Episcopal Church on Monday. This is a tradition followed by many presidents, including former Presidents Barack Obama and George W. Bush.
St. John’s Episcopal Church is known as the “Church of the Presidents” because of the visits from many U.S. presidents. Almost every president since James Madison has attended a worship service at this historical church.
This tradition began with Franklin D. Roosevelt, who in 1933 requested the church’s pastor at that time to hold a private worship service for his family and friends during his first inauguration. The church agreed to the request, thus starting the tradition.
Roosevelt was very pleased with the experience and subsequently requested the service to be held annually on Inauguration Day. His successor, President Harry Truman, decided to continue this tradition, which has persisted to this day.
Over time, the scale of this private worship service has gradually expanded. However, this year, the church’s pastor decided to return the service to its original simplistic form. The ceremony will include many elements similar to the original private service held for Roosevelt, including a special prayer written for him by the pastor at that time.
Although the location of the worship service may sometimes change based on the religious beliefs of the incoming president, the core spirit of this tradition remains unchanged: to provide a private, peaceful, and historically significant time of prayer for the newly-elected president and their family.