Pope Francis' Prayer For Trump: God Gives Wisdom, Strength And Protection

JAKARTA - Pope Francis congratulated Donald Trump, who was sworn in as president of the United States in Washington.

The Pope prayed that God would give Trump "wiseness, strength and protection" when Trump returned to office.

"I hope under your leadership, the American people will prosper and always try to build a fairer society, where there is no room for hatred, discrimination or exclusion," the Pope said.

Pope Francis, the leader of the 1.4 billion Catholic Church since 2013, has spoken a very harsh language in criticizing Trump in recent years.

Pope Francis' congratulations came a day after Pope Francis said that reports of Trump's plans to step up immigration law enforcement actions across the US would be "an "aib".

In an Italian television interview on Sunday, the Pope said the plan would "make migrants, who have nothing, pay unpaid bills".

A new Trump administration official said on Saturday the elected president was reconsidering the plan for an immigration raid in Chicago following a report on the plan.

During the 2016 election campaign, Pope Francis said Trump was "not Christian" because of his views on immigration.