LUZERNE COUNTY, Pa. — President Joe Biden has returned to our area to pay respects to former Pennsylvania First Lady Ellen Casey before her wake at St. Peter's Cathedral.
Air Force One landed at the Wilkes-Barre/Scranton International Airport in Luzerne County around 12:40 p.m. Thursday.
Pres. Biden spoke to reporters about Casey before leaving Joint Base Andrews in Maryland.
"She played an enormous role, not just in my life but everyone's. There's a quote my sister always uses about Michelangelo. 'He saw the angel in the marble, and he carved till he set it free.' That's who she was. This was an incredible woman—decent, honorable. Her values were amazing, and every time I'd go to Scranton over the years, I'd stop and see her. She was a friend."
"She loved with a fierceness and a tenderness that was just incredible. It was the Irish of her," Biden said when he arrived here. "She raised an enormously successful and decent family. All the values I learned, I learned here in Scranton, and she was an embodiment of them."
Biden noted the difficulty of attending the funeral on Friday because of security issues, adding that he came before the viewing on Thursday to pay respects to the Casey family.
The presidential motorcade traveled on Interstate 81 into downtown Scranton, affecting traffic along the way.
The president's private visit with the Casey family took place before the public visitation from 2 p.m. to 8 p.m. at St. Peter's Cathedral on Wyoming Avenue.
Pres. Biden, a Scranton native, issued a statement on Ellen Casey's passing here.
Casey died last week at the age of 91. Her husband was the late Gov. Robert P. Casey. Her son, Robert Casey Jr., currently serves as U.S. Senator for Pennsylvania.
The president often talks about his Scranton roots and says Ellen Casey was a large part of that. Her work extended across the entire Commonwealth and beyond, and those who knew her say this visit is a testament to her legacy.
A funeral mass for Ellen Casey is scheduled for Friday at 10 a.m., also at St. Peter's.