Little is really known about the current First Lady's Catholic faith and how she practices it, although there have been brief glimpses. The first hint was reported by the Palm Beach Daily News when she married Donald Trump. At her wedding, she not only carried a family heirloom rosary in lieu of a wedding bouquet, but chose Ave Maria as her wedding march. Clearly a nod to Catholic piety.

"The bride walked down the aisle carrying only an ancient rosary, not to Lohengrin or Wagner, but to a vocalist singing Ave Maria in an exquisite soprano voice," Shannon Donnelly wrote on the society page of the Palm Beach newspaper.

A rosary can easily be seen wrapped around her right wrist and threaded through the fingers of her hand in various Jan. 22, 2005 wedding pictures. The nuptials drew such A-list notables as: Bill and Hillary Clinton, Billy Joel, Tony Bennett, Shaquille O'Neill, Rudy Giuliani, Donna Summer, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer, Russell Simmons, Mort Zuckerman, Heidi Klum, Barbara Walters and more than 350 others.

However, the Trumps were not married in a Catholic wedding. Although it was Melania Knauss' first wedding, it was Donald's third trip down the aisle. Mr. Trump's third bride wore a white hand-beaded duchesse-satin Dior wedding gown. The mixed marriage nuptials (the President has Presbyterian roots) took place at the Episcopal Church of Bethesda-by-the-Sea in Palm Beach a mere two and a half miles away from Mar-a-Lago, where the lavish reception was held.

Another clue to Mrs. Trump's faith came the day after the inauguration, while anti-Trumpers took to the streets in pink cat ear hats to protest Donald Trump's swearing in as the 45th President of the United States. Meanwhile, the President and First Lady, along with Vice President Michael Pence and Second Lady Karen Pence, were at the National Cathedral for the 58th Presidential Inaugural Prayer Service, "marking the beginning of a new presidential term through prayer, readings and musical performances."

It was during one of those musical performances which seemed to have deep meaning for the new First Lady, as How Great Thou Art was being sung as a soprano solo, that Mrs. Trump wiped away a tear or two. She also closed her eyes and swayed her head, dropping it in apparent deep reflective thought. As the final note was fading away, the First Lady spontaneously led a standing ovation in the Episcopal cathedral.

One month later, the First Lady's faith quietly came to the forefront again when, unbeknownst to the President, Mrs. Trump lead a post election political rally in the Lord's Prayer before a large and cheering post-election crowd.

"Let us pray," she prefaced.

"Our Father, Who art in Heaven ..." she read in heavily accented English, as she read the Protestant version of the Lord's Prayer.

The next day the media had a feeding frenzy because she "read" the Lord's Prayer rather than recited it from memory.

Melanija Knavs was born in 1970 in Novo Meso, in then Yugoslavia. Her first language is Slovenian, which she has taught her young son Barron. But she also speaks accented English, French, German, and Serbian. It was just easier for her to read the Lord's Prayer in English rather than rely on her memory to recite it in, what for her, is a foreign tongue especially before a large crowd and while under pressure.

It was during her successful cover girl modeling career that she tweaked her name from Melanija Knavs to Melania Knauss to make it a little simpler to remember and spell. She has been featured in various magazines, including Vogue, Harper's Bazaar, the New York Magazine, the British version of Gentlemen's Quarterly and even Sports Illustrated.

The first inkling that the new First Lady might indeed be a Roman Catholic came following the "Lord's Prayer rally." On February 22, Fr. Alexander Lucie-Smith, consulting editor of The Catholic Herald-UK, wrote that Wikipedia lists her as a Roman Catholic.

According to the Wikipedia article, history shows that in February Melania Trump's name was added to the list of American Roman Catholics, as well as to the list identifying Slovenian Roman Catholics. This disclosure went virtually unnoticed by the press.

However, Fr. Lucie-Smith wasn't taking the Wikipedia notation as gospel. "But if it is true that she is a Catholic, that makes her only the second First Lady to be so," he wrote.

Although, he went on to say: "Of course, Melania and Donald's union is not a regular one from a Catholic point of view, as he has been married twice before, and both previous Mrs. Trumps are happily still with us. But there are many people who are in irregular unions who nevertheless strongly identify as Catholics and go to Mass, though not to Holy Communion, and who have had the children of their union baptized."

The British priest is referring to the fact that Donald Trump has been married twice before walking down the aisle with Melania. He first married divorcee Ivana Zelníčková. Her first husband was Austrian skier Alfred Winklmayr. Her 14-year marriage to Trump produced three children -- Donald, Jr., Ivanka and Eric. She has since been married and divorced two more times. Ivana is the one who first referred to Donald Trump as "The Donald, " a moniker which has stayed with him.

After the divorce, Donald then married Marla Maples in a 1993 Christmas season shotgun wedding following the October birth of their only daughter, Tiffany. It is their affair which is credited with breaking up the first Mrs. Trump's marriage to The Donald. However, the second Mrs. Trump's marriage lasted only six years.

Interestingly, both former wives, Ivana and Marla, attended Trump's inauguration in January and watched as the third Mrs. Trump became First Lady. However, not all "first ladies" were president's wives. Several presidents were widowed either before or during their presidency, so a daughter, daughter-in-law, sister, niece or another female family member stepped in as White House hostess.

Last month the news broke that 11-year-old First Son, Barron Trump, would be attending St. Andrew's School, an Episcopal Day School in suburban Washington, DC. Currently, he and his mother are still living in New York so he can finish out his school year at Columbia Prep in Manhattan. They are to move into the White House this summer before he starts school in the fall.

Young Trump is a baptized Episcopalian. He was baptized at Bethesda-by-the-Sea, the same church where his parents were married.

"We are very excited for our son to attend St. Andrew's Episcopal School," Mrs. Trump said three weeks ago when her son's school choice was announced. "The mission of St. Andrew's is 'to know and inspire each child in an inclusive community dedicated to exceptional teaching, learning, and service,' all of which appealed to our family. We look forward to the coming school years at St. Andrew's."

However, it wasn't until last week's trip to the Vatican, that the London Daily Mail put enough of the puzzles pieces together to pointedly ask about Mrs. Trump's faith walk and religious denomination.

Before heading to Rome, the Trumps visited Jerusalem, where she saw the Church of the Holy Sepulchre and was very reflective while at the Wailing Wall, where she stood all alone in thought -- or prayer -- while reaching out her right hand to touch the ancient limestone.

Afterwards she tweeted: "Today's visits to The Church of the Holy Sepulchre & Western Wall w my husband @POTUS were very meaningful for me. Blessings to all."

Mrs. Trump is not the prolific tweeter that the President is. However, after the news of the May 22 Manchester Arena suicide terrorist bombing she tweeted: "My thoughts and prayers to the families of #Manchester."

While in Rome, the First Lady, clearly comfortable with young children, visited Bambino Gesù, the Vatican-affiliated children's hospital, where she read to a young Greek lad in need of a heart transplant. She hugged the child, who in turn then gave her a peck on the cheek, during her encounter with him in the Intensive Care Unit. She also spent time coloring with other gravely ill children and participated in their selfie photographs.

The written message she left the children was: "Great visiting you! Stay strong & positive! Much love, Melania Trump." She also drew a flower and heart with her red marker.

"Thank you @bambinogesu for the heroic work you do. I ask that everyone keep these amazing children in your thoughts & prayers." FLOTUS tweeted following her visit to the children's hospital.

The First Lady also visited the hospital's chapel, where she offered up some prayers and she laid some flowers at the feet of a life-sized statue of Our Lady of Grace. At that point, it was seen that Mrs. Trump makes the Sign of the Cross in the way that the Orthodox habitually do -- touching the right shoulder before crossing over to the left. The Orthodox do it in this way to honor the fact that Jesus now sits at the right hand of the Father in heaven. The Latin Rite Catholics and Anglicans usually make the Sign of the Cross touching their left shoulder first.

Bambina Gesù, founded in 1869 by the Vatican, is the largest pediatric research and care center in Europe. Apparently, Mrs. Trump's prayers in the hospital chapel for her young friend were answered.

"Wonderful news after I visited @bambinogesu in Rome!" she tweeted. "A little boy who I visited today & had been waiting for a heart transplant will be receiving one! #Blessings #Faith."

The President and his First Lady also enjoyed the High Renaissance art work of Michelangelo by visiting the Sistine Chapel, which features the ceiling frescos of the Last Judgment and seeing the 15th century multimedia artist's marble sculpture of the Pietà -- Mary holding the lifeless Body of her dead Son in her arms.

Melania Trump was looking forward to meeting Pope Francis not only as the First Lady of the United States, but also as a Catholic under his spiritual authority.

"The @Potus & I are looking forward to our visit w His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex.," FLOTUS tweeted. "This promises to be a personal & very special visit."

When Mrs. Trump, who accompanied the President, and his daughter, Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, met Pope Francis, she wore an elegant black lace Dolce & Gabbana street length dress, in keeping with Vatican tradition and protocol of wearing black and a head covering when meeting the pontiff in a private audience while on his home turf. The First Lady's head was topped by a simple short black lace chapel veil, rather than a more elaborate mantilla.

Dolce & Gabbana is a luxury Italian fashion house. Their creations are available at Saks Fifth Avenue, nestled next to St. Patrick's Cathedral not far from Trump Tower in New York.

Following the visit to the Pope, Mrs. Trump tweeted: "Today's visit with His Holiness Pope Francis @Pontifex is one I'll never forget. I was humbled by the honor. Blessings to all."

It is a Catholic who would refer to the Roman Pontiff as "His Holiness ..."

But it was when Pope Francis blessed a rosary that Mrs. Trump was clutching in her left hand, that The Mail's curiosity was peaked and, after putting all the various puzzle pieces, spiritual clues and the faith-filled tweets together that the British tabloid started asking pointed questions about the First Lady's faith. The Mail shot a question to Stephanie Grisham, Mrs. Trump's spokeswoman, about the First Lady's faith commitment.

Hours after the Trumps meet the Pope on Wednesday (May 24), the Daily Mail breaks the story with the headline: "Melania Trump reveals she is Catholic: The First Lady shares her faith with the world after meeting the Pope as the first Catholic to live in White House since JFK."

"Her spokeswoman Stephanie Grisham confirmed in an email that Melania Trump identifies as Catholic, but Grisham did not respond to questions about if and when the first lady was baptized, whether she attends Mass regularly at a specific parish and whether the first family are current members of a church," the Washington Post later reported. "The first lady, who became a U.S. citizen in 2006, grew up in what is today Slovenia, which has been heavily influenced by Catholicism."

Because Mrs. Trump grew up behind the Iron Curtain, she did not celebrate the Sacraments of Initiation -- Baptism, First Holy Communion and Confirmation -- as a child. And she is now mum on the time and place of her own conversion experience to the Church of Rome. Her Catholic faith is personal and she quietly lives it out.

The first sitting president to meet the pope was Woodrow Wilson in 1919, who met Pope Benedict XV. President Dwight Eisenhower also met Pope John XXIII, but First Lady Mamie Eisenhower did not accompany him, his daughter-in-law, Barbara Thompson Eisenhower did. Every president since Eisenhower has met the pope, who is not only the spiritual leader of 1.2 billion Catholics, but is also the sovereign head of state for the tiny Vatican City-State.

President Lyndon Johnson met two popes, Pius XII while vice president and Paul VI as president. His daughter, Luci, who was baptized and raised Episcopalian, converted to Catholicism while living in the White House as a teenager and was conditionally baptized by the Catholic Church. The Catholic rebaptism brought down a storm of criticism and controversy in1965.

Several former presidents have also met a Roman pontiff: Martin Van Buren, Millard Fillmore and Franklin Pierce all met Pius IX. Ulysses Grant met Leo XIII and Harry and Bess Truman met Pius XII. Franklin Roosevelt met Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli before he became Pope Pius XII, however FDR's distant cousin, Theodore Roosevelt, was unable to work out the details to meet Pius X. Teddy Roosevelt called the papal impasse "an elegant row."

All first ladies since Jackie Kennedy have met the pope. Mrs. Kennedy met Pope John XXIII; Lady Bird Johnson (Paul VI); Pat Nixon (Paul VI); Betty Ford (Paul VI); Rosalyn Carter (John Paul II); Nancy Reagan (John Paul II); Barbara Bush (John Paul II); Hillary Clinton (John Paul II); Laura Bush (John Paul II & Benedict XVI); Michelle Obama (Benedict XVI & Francis); and Mrs. Trump (Francis).

Following their trip to the Vatican, President Trump declared Memorial Day (May 29) as a Day of Prayer for Permanent Peace and requests that all flags be flown half mast.

"... I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, do hereby proclaim Memorial Day, May 29, 2017, as a day of prayer for permanent peace, and I designate the hour beginning in each locality at 11:00 a.m. of that day as a time when people might unite in prayer. I urge the press, radio, television, and all other information media to cooperate in this observance," he writes in his official proclamation. "I further ask all Americans to observe the National Moment of Remembrance beginning at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day."

This year Memorial Day fell on May 29, 2017, which was also the 100th anniversary of the birth of President John F. Kennedy, the only Catholic President of the United States.

Several of Trump's West Wing top advisors are Catholic, including: Kellyanne Conway (senior advisor); Steve Bannon (chief strategist); and Sean Spicer (press secretary). However, Trump chose to bring his daughter Ivanka and son-in-law Jared Kushner, both considered high power unpaid assistants, to the president, on his foreign trip. The Kushners, who are Jewish, got to meet the spiritual head of the Catholic Church, while the Catholics in the Trump White House were left behind.

Ivanka was raised Presbyterian by her father, but converted to Modern Orthodox Judaism to marry. She took the Jewish name of "Yael" at her Bat Matzvah.

The taking a of a Hebrew name is considered "a keystone of Jewish identity."

Modern Orthodox Judaism is described as a way to "synthesize Jewish values and the observance of Jewish law with the secular, modern world." The Kushners keep kosher and follow a strict Sabbath.

While visiting the Wailing Wall with her father and stepmother, Mrs. Kushner wore a stylish navy blue velvet off-center fascinator, in keeping with her Orthodox Jewish tradition that married women cover their heads at holy sites. Both her father and her husband wore yarmulkes. Mrs. Trump remained bare headed.

Afterward, Ivanka tweeted: "It was deeply meaningful to visit the holiest site of my faith and to leave a note of prayer."

Mary Ann Mueller is a journalist living in Texas. She is a regular contributor to VirtueOnline