<p>They did not speak the same language and were not even in the same room. But the presidents of Mexico and the United States quickly found common ground in a virtual "meeting" on Monday, in the form of the Virgin of Guadalupe.</p>.<p>Mexico's patron saint is one of the most beloved symbols of national identity in a country where most people share US President Joe Biden's Roman Catholic faith.</p>.<p>Biden, the second Catholic US president, opened his remarks noting that he had "paid respects" to the Virgin of Guadalupe on trips to Mexico, and wore a rosary from her namesake basilica that belonged to his late son.</p>.<p>"As a matter of fact, I still have my rosary beads that my son was wearing when he passed," Biden said, lifting his wrist to show them.</p>.<p>Beau Biden died of brain cancer at age 46 in 2015 - one of several family tragedies that have touched the president's life, and that he often weaves into emotional public speeches.</p>.<p>Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday praised Biden's openness in the video conference.</p>.<p>"From the outset, this confession that he wears a rosary, the mention of the Virgin of Guadalupe," Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference. "I mean, he didn't come off as a cardboard politician, rigid, but rather as a man of feeling."</p>.<p>The Mexican bishops' conference hailed Biden's "devotion" to the Lady of Guadalupe, a Virgin Mary figure who, according to legend, appeared to an Aztec man in 1531 a decade after the Spanish conquest of Mexico.</p>.<p>Traditional imagery of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in which she wears a blue robe flecked with golden stars, is a common sight in churches and shrines throughout Mexico and is widely referenced in pop culture.</p>.<p>"We are proud that the Virgin of Guadalupe is so loved and appreciated everywhere beyond languages, cultures and traditions," the conference said in a statement. </p>
<p>They did not speak the same language and were not even in the same room. But the presidents of Mexico and the United States quickly found common ground in a virtual "meeting" on Monday, in the form of the Virgin of Guadalupe.</p>.<p>Mexico's patron saint is one of the most beloved symbols of national identity in a country where most people share US President Joe Biden's Roman Catholic faith.</p>.<p>Biden, the second Catholic US president, opened his remarks noting that he had "paid respects" to the Virgin of Guadalupe on trips to Mexico, and wore a rosary from her namesake basilica that belonged to his late son.</p>.<p>"As a matter of fact, I still have my rosary beads that my son was wearing when he passed," Biden said, lifting his wrist to show them.</p>.<p>Beau Biden died of brain cancer at age 46 in 2015 - one of several family tragedies that have touched the president's life, and that he often weaves into emotional public speeches.</p>.<p>Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Tuesday praised Biden's openness in the video conference.</p>.<p>"From the outset, this confession that he wears a rosary, the mention of the Virgin of Guadalupe," Lopez Obrador told a regular news conference. "I mean, he didn't come off as a cardboard politician, rigid, but rather as a man of feeling."</p>.<p>The Mexican bishops' conference hailed Biden's "devotion" to the Lady of Guadalupe, a Virgin Mary figure who, according to legend, appeared to an Aztec man in 1531 a decade after the Spanish conquest of Mexico.</p>.<p>Traditional imagery of the Virgin of Guadalupe, in which she wears a blue robe flecked with golden stars, is a common sight in churches and shrines throughout Mexico and is widely referenced in pop culture.</p>.<p>"We are proud that the Virgin of Guadalupe is so loved and appreciated everywhere beyond languages, cultures and traditions," the conference said in a statement. </p>