Biden's faith comes through in speech, quoting Catholic hymn and Bible verse

In closing his victory speech Saturday night, President-elect Joe Biden, the nation's second Catholic president after John F. Kennedy, recalled the Catholic hymn "On Eagle's Wings," a song he said was important to his family and his deceased son Beau, who died of brain cancer in 2015.

"It captures the faith that sustains me, which I believe sustains America. And I hope and I hope I can provide some comfort and solace," he told the crowd before reciting the hymn. "And he will raise you up on eagle's wings, bear you on the breath of dawn. Make you to shine like the sun and hold you in the palm of his hand."

Biden ended with this: "And now, together — on eagle’s wings — we embark on the work that God and history have called upon us to do."

More: Read the transcript of what Joe Biden said in his first speech as president-elect

Earlier in his speech, given outside the Chase Center in Wilmington, Delaware, Biden quoted from the book of Ecclesiastes: "The Bible tells us that to everything there is a season — a time to build, a time to reap, a time to sow. And a time to heal.

"This is the time to heal in America."

During the campaign, President Donald Trump accused Biden of being "against God" despite the devout Catholic's frequent references to his faith. Biden, who has often talked about how his Catholic faith helped him survive the death of his first wife and their daughter in a 1972 car crash, dismissed Trump's comments as an attempt at making a cynical appeal to religious conservatives.

As he wrapped his remarks on Saturday, Biden recalled his grandfather telling him to "keep the faith" before adding that his grandmother chimed in, "no Joey, spread it. Spread the faith."

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Joe Biden's faith comes through in speech, quoting hymn, Bible verse