With Obama more popular in many countries than he is at home, foreign leaders often seek Obama's presence to build prestige with domestic audiences. The tables were turned this time as the president, who has slipped in U.S. opinion polls, visited a pope who recently in an interview with an Italian newspaper sought to deflate his "superman" status.

'Motivated people'

"The president, like many people around the world, has been inspired by the first year that Pope Francis has had," said U.S. Deputy National Security Adviser Ben Rhodes. The pope "has motivated people around the world by his message of inclusion, of equality,"

Though their meeting was only scheduled to last a half hour, their private session lasted 52 minutes. The two were smiling and the pope laughed in response to a comment from the president as a press pool and senior Obama aides were ushered in at the end of the meeting.

Francis, who began his papacy by giving up his residence in the Apostolic Palace to live in a suite in a guest house, has raised expectations for change as he tempers the church's emphasis on contentious culture war issues in favor of economic concerns.

One year into his pontificate, Francis's popularity among American Catholics surpasses the standing at any time of his predecessor, Pope Benedict XVI, though it doesn't so far match the enthusiasm for John Paul II, who stood against communism as the Soviet empire started to crumble.

Favorable view

Eighty-five percent of American Catholics have a favorable view of Francis, according to a Pew Research Center poll taken Feb. 14 – 23. Seventy-one percent of Catholics say Francis represents a major change in the direction of the church, a sentiment shared by 56 percent of non-Catholics.

Differences between the U.S. church hierarchy and Obama over social issues such as gay marriage, abortion and birth control were highlighted this week as a challenge to the contraceptives mandate in Obama's health care law reached the U.S. Supreme Court for arguments.

Still, some in the president's Democratic party see in Francis a potent ally for their agenda of access to affordable health coverage and opposition of budget cuts to social services.

Senator Dick Durbin of Illinois, a Catholic and the party's second-ranking leader in the chamber, compared Francis to Pope John XXIII, a transformational figure in the church who ushered in the reforms of the Second Vatican Council and elevated the emphasis on addressing social injustice.

'Same feelings'

"I was a kid at the time but I can remember Pope John XXIII," Durbin said. "I didn't think there would be another like him in my lifetime, and Pope Francis brings together a lot of those same feelings of inclusion rather than exclusion from the Church."

Obama presented the pope with a seed chest custom-made with reclaimed wood from the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Baltimore, Maryland. It held a variety of fruit and vegetable seeds used in the White House Garden. 

"If you have a chance to come to the White House, we can show you our garden as well," the president said.

"For sure," answered the pope, smiling and speaking in Spanish.

The pope gave the president two medallions, including one that symbolizes the need for solidarity and peace between the northern and southern hemispheres.

He also presented Obama a copy of Evangelii Gaudium, or "The Joy of the Gospel," a 2013 apostolic exhortation by Francis that called for a renewed focus on the world's poor.

""I actually will probably read this in the Oval Office when I'm deeply frustrated," Obama said. "I'm sure it will give me strength and calm me down."

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