Pope Francis met a former pupil, Yayo Grassi, and Grassi’s same-sex partner, Iwan Bagus, on September 23 at a private audience at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington, a day before the pontiff’s meeting with Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis. The meeting between Francis and Davis has attracted controversy because of her refusal to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

On October 2 the Vatican issued a statement saying Davis was one of several dozen people the pope met at the September 24 event, and that the only official meeting had been with “one of his former students and [the student’s] family.” Credit: YouTube/Marisa Marchitelli