Parallel to the inauguration of President Donald Trump, the Bible Museum in Washington DC (United States) is preparing to offer visitors a close look at a uniquely personal item used during the presidential inauguration ceremony.
Robert Duke, curatorial director of the Museum of the Bible, told EWTN News’ CNA that starting Tuesday, Trump’s personal Bible, which first lady Melania Trump held as Trump was sworn in on Monday, will be added to the set of US presidential inauguration Bibles currently on display at the museum.
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Trump’s personal Bible, given to him in 1955 to commemorate his graduation from Sunday Church Elementary School, is a 1953 Revised Standard Version published by Thomas Nelson and Sons in New York, according to the Trump-Vance Inaugural Committee.
It is engraved with his name in the bottom corner of the cover and is signed by church officials on the inside, along with an inscription with details of when it was given to him.
Trump also took the oath of office with the revered Lincoln Bible, which he also used during his inauguration in 2017. The Lincoln Bible is unique because Abraham Lincoln, Barack Obama and Trump are the only presidents to have used it for their swearing-in ceremonies.
“The Bible has played a pivotal role in the history of presidential inaugurations,” Duke said. “So we thought this year it would be great to have a small exhibition about the inauguration on our first floor.”
In addition to the Trump and Lincoln Bibles, other Bibles on display in the exhibit include the one used by the late President Jimmy Carter. His Bible is open to Micah 6:8: “He has declared to you, O man, what is good, / and what the Lord requires of you: / to do justice, to love mercy, and to walk humbly with your God,” which he cited during his 1977 inaugural address.
“We also have Grover Cleveland’s Bible on display,” Duke noted, noting that Cleveland “was the only other president who had a four-year gap between his two presidencies.”
Meanwhile, newly sworn Vice President JD Vance used a family Bible that belonged to his maternal great-grandmother, which had been given to him in 2003 on the day he left his home for the Marine Corps Recruit Depots in South Carolina, according to the Trump Inaugural Committee. -Vance.
Translated and adapted by the ACI Prensa team. Originally published in CNA.
Low tide Elhabbal
Madalaine Elhabbal is a CNA journalist based in EWTN’s Washington DC bureau. She has published articles on CatholicVote and has also worked as a foreign language assistant in France. She is a graduate of Benedictine College.