President Biden closes out the year with a trip to church as he makes rare public appearance during free Caribbean vacation at beachfront villa

President Joe Biden ended the year Saturday by visiting church in a rare public appearance during his free vacation in the Caribbean, where he is staying at a beachside villa owned by a billionaire Democratic donor.

Biden waved as he left the Catholic Church of the Holy Cross in downtown Christiansted, the largest city on St. Croix, one of the U.S. Virgin Islands. As a devout Catholic, he rarely misses weekend Mass.

He is on the island with his wife Jill Biden and granddaughter Natalie, neither of whom accompanied him to church. It was the president's first public appearance since he arrived on Wednesday.

The Biden trio will remain on St. Croix through New Year's Eve without saying anything yet about how they plan to celebrate the transition to 2024. The president has a busy year ahead as he seeks a second term in the White House, working with Congress to pass a federal budget and dealing with wars in Ukraine and the Middle East.

The Biden family is staying rent-free in a beachfront villa owned by friends Bill and Connie Neville, who made their fortune in the tech industry and attended the White House state dinner with French President Emmanuel Macron.

Located in an area where homes can sell for up to $3 million, the property has three bedrooms, a pool and access to a private beach.

The Bidens also spent last year at the Neville house and rang in 2023 on the private beach. St. Croix is ​​the easternmost point in the United States, giving the United States the first sunrise of the new year.

In the past, the Bidens joined locals in greeting the first sunrise of the new year at Point Udall, the easternmost point under the American flag. But as president he needs more security, hence the private early morning tradition.

Biden arrived on the island on Wednesday after spending Christmas at Camp David.

Until Saturday he stayed behind the closed gates of his villa.

On Friday, he urged Congress to “act” and send more aid to Ukraine after Russian President Vladimir Putin launched a massive airstrike against the embattled country.

But he made his call in a lengthy statement from the White House. In it, he condemned the attacks and took the opportunity to renew his call for Congress to pass his $61 billion aid package.

'Strikes have reportedly hit a maternity hospital, a shopping center and residential areas, killing innocent people and injuring dozens of others. It is a stark reminder to the world that, after almost two years of this devastating war, Putin's objective remains unchanged. He is trying to wipe out Ukraine and subjugate its people. He must be stopped,” Biden said.

“Unless Congress takes urgent action in the new year, we will not be able to continue sending the weapons and vital air defense systems that Ukraine needs to protect its people. “Congress must act and act without further delay,” the president added.

Biden has asked Congress for $61 billion in aid to Ukraine, but Republicans are refusing to approve the aid without an agreement with Democrats to tighten security along the U.S.-Mexico border.

Now that US aid is questionable, Russia tried to overwhelm Ukraine's air defenses on Friday with strikes on most major cities. The Ukrainian Air Force intercepted 87 missiles and 27 Shahed-type drones in one night, Ukrainian military chief Valerii Zaluzhnyi said.

Biden is regularly briefed by aides during his vacation.

Presidents can work anywhere and a secure workplace is set up wherever they stay.

While Biden has enjoyed sunny skies and 80-degree temperatures, a series of political storms await him on the continent, including the coming battle to fund the government, with a January 19 deadline.

And the 2024 elections will kick into high gear next month as Republicans begin the primary process to choose their presidential nominee.

There will also be more immediate, pressing political issues, including rising tensions in the Middle East and the increase in the number of migrants crossing at the southern border.

Immigration has become entrenched in Biden's foreign policy — his push for more money for Ukraine and Israel has been stymied by Republicans' desire for more border funding.

And it's a political hot potato for the president, who is seeking a second term. Republicans — and even some Democrats — have criticized him for not doing enough to secure the U.S.-Mexico border.

Meanwhile, fears are growing of a spreading war in the Middle East that could attract American troops. US forces in Syria and Iraq have already faced attacks from Iranian proxy groups.

But the president still has a few days in paradise.

The Bidens have a long family tradition, spending time there in St. Croix almost every year since 2008.

Both the president and first lady are known to enjoy beach time. The Bidens own a beach house in Rehoboth, Delaware.

Biden's brother James owns property on Water Island and in the past the Bidens often spent a week there in January when the cold weather arrived on the East Coast.

During his time as vice president, Biden vacationed on St Croix in 2014, 2015 and 2016.

Last year he was the first president to visit the island since former President Bill Clinton in the 1990s. Barack Obama visited it in 2007 when he was a presidential candidate.

Before Biden, the last sitting president to visit St. Croix was Harry Truman, in February 1948.