- The meeting is called a step toward smoothing tensions with Catholics
- Abortion and Obamacare mandates on contraception are areas of disagreement
- One place for common ground: the plight of immigrants and the poor
- Pope Francis' popularity could give President Obama a small bump in the polls
(CNN) -- President Barack Obama gave Pope Francis a box of seeds as a gift, a fitting token as their first-ever meeting provided a fresh start of sorts between the administration and Catholic leadership after years of strained relations.
"These, I think, are carrots," Obama told the Pontiff, showing him a pouch from the box, which was made from timber from the first cathedral to open in the United States, in Baltimore.
The Pope gave the President two medallions -- one symbolizing the need for peace and solidarity between the two hemispheres -- and a copy of "Evangelii Gaudium," or "The Joy of the Gospel." The book was penned by the Pope and calls for a new era of evangelization and a renewed focus on the poor.
The tokens of goodwill underscored the goal of the meeting: Focus on areas where two of the world's most influential men agree, and gently tread ground where they differ.
President Barack Obama laughs as he speaks with Pope Francis at the Vatican on Thursday, March 27. Every U.S. president since Dwight D. Eisenhower has had a formal audience with the pope. 
President Dwight D. Eisenhower, third from left, meets with Pope John XXIII at the Vatican in 1959. 
President John F. Kennedy talks with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1963. Kennedy, who was the first and only Catholic president, met with the Pontiff shortly after his coronation. 
In 1965, Pope Paul VI became the first to visit the United States. He met with President Lyndon B. Johnson and addressed the United Nations in a plea for world peace. 
President Richard Nixon meets with Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1970. 
President Gerald Ford and first lady Betty Ford visit Pope Paul VI at the Vatican in 1975. 
President Jimmy Carter watches Pope John Paul II sign the White House guest book in 1979. He was the first Pope to visit the White House. 
In 1984, President Ronald Reagan meets with Pope John Paul II at the airport in Fairbanks, Alaska. The Pope was making a layover on his way to South Korea, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands and Thailand. Reagan was on his way home from China. 
Pope John Paul II presents first lady Barbara Bush with a Vatican Medal as President George H.W. Bush looks at his medal during a ceremony at the Vatican in 1989. 
President Bill Clinton stands by as Pope John Paul II speaks at a news conference in Denver in 1993. Before attending the Catholic World Youth Day, the outspoken Pope surprised the pro-choice President during their first public meeting with stern anti-abortion remarks. 
President George W. Bush presents Pope John Paul II with the Presidential Medal of Freedom at the Vatican in 2004. During their meeting, the Pope reminded Bush of the Vatican's strong opposition to the U.S.-led invasion of Iraq. 
During a trip to the Vatican in 2007, President George W. Bush gives Pope Benedict XVI a walking stick inscribed with the Ten Commandments that was made by a formerly homeless man in Texas. Bush met with popes a record six times while he was in office. 
President Barack Obama and first lady Michelle Obama meet with Pope Benedict XVI at the Vatican in 2009. 
Photos: Popes and U.S. presidents 
U.S. President Barack Obama and Pope Francis exchange gifts in the Pope's private library at the Vatican on Thursday, March 27. It was their first-ever meeting. 
The two world leaders greeted each other with a smile and a handshake, and they posed for pictures before sitting down across a table from each other. 
During their meeting, nearly an hour long, Obama invited the Pope to the White House. 
The President has said he admires the Pope's courage to speak out on economic and social issues. "It doesn't mean we agree on every issue, but his voice is one that I think the world needs to hear. He challenges us," Obama told the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera. The meeting had its share of light moments. The President at one point quipped, "His Holiness is probably the only person in the world who has to put up with more protocol." 
Obama and Secretary of State John Kerry pose with the Pope at his private library in the Apostolic Palace. President Obama meets Pope Francis 
Argentine Cardinal Jorge Mario Bergoglio was elected the Roman Catholic Church's 266th Pope on March 13, 2013. The first pontiff from Latin America was also the first to take the name Francis. It was a sign of maverick moves to come. 
Pope Francis at the reception desk of the Domus Internationalis Paulus VI residence, where he paid the bill for his stay during the conclave that would elect him leader of the world's 1.2 billion Catholics. 
Pope Francis embraced a young boy with cerebral palsy in March 2013, a gesture that many took as a heartwarming token of his self-stated desire to "be close to the people." 
Pope Francis washes the feet of juvenile offenders, including Muslim women, as part of Holy Thursday rituals in March 2013. The act commemorates Jesus' washing of the Apostles' feet during the Last Supper. 
Crowds swarmed Pope Francis last July as he made his way through World Youth Day in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. According to the Vatican, 1 million people turned out to see the Pope. 
During an impromptu press conference on the plane from Brazil to Rome, the Pope uttered five now-famous words about gay priests: "Who am I to judge?" Many saw the move as the opening of a more tolerant era in the church. 
In August, Pope Francis and Italian teens took what is likely the first papal selfie, another indication of the Pope's down-to-earth charm. 
Pope Francis has eschewed fancy cars, instead choosing to drive a white Renault 4L. And he told priests and bishops to do the same. 
Pope Francis embraced Vinicio Riva, a man with a rare skin disease, in November. The images went viral, with even atheists expressing admiration for the gesture. 
Pope Francis marked his 77th birthday on December 17 by hosting homeless men to a Mass and a meal at the Vatican. One of the men brought his dog. 
Pope Francis jokes with members of the Rainbow Association, which uses clown therapy in hospitals, nursing homes and orphanages. Many Catholics saw this image as the joyful flip side of Francis' embrace of the disfigured man. 
In December, Time magazine named Pope Francis its Person of the Year, lauding him as "the people's Pope." 
In another papal first, Pope Francis made the cover of Rolling Stone in January. The magazine praised his "obvious humility" and "empathy." 
Pope Francis' first year 
Rock star Pope shakes up the Vatican The two men greeted each other with a smile and a handshake and posed for pictures before sitting down across a table from each other. They spoke privately for nearly an hour.
When they emerged from the meeting, the President and the Vatican had slightly different takes on the tenor of their discussions, especially when it came to issues that have frayed the relationship between the Obama administration and American Catholic leaders.
"... (I)t was hoped that, in areas of conflict, there would be respect for humanitarian and international law and a negotiated solution between the parties involved," the Vatican said in a statement. "In the context of bilateral relations and cooperation between Church and State, there was a discussion on questions of particular relevance for the Church in that country, such as the exercise of the rights to religious freedom, life and conscientious objection. ..."
Obama, in a news conference that followed, told reporters that such issues were "not a topic of conversation" with the Pope and instead were discussed with Vatican Secretary of State Pietro Parolin.
According to the Vatican, the two men also discussed the issue of immigration reform and "stated their common commitment to the eradication of human trafficking throughout the world."
On this point, the President and the Pope were simpatico.
"I was grateful to have the opportunity to speak with him about the responsibilities that we all share to care for the least of these, the poor, the excluded," Obama told reporters after the meeting. "And I was extremely moved by his insights about the importance of us all having a moral perspective on world problems and not simply thinking in terms of our own narrow self-interests."
The meeting took place two days after the U.S. Supreme Court heard arguments on a contraception mandate included in the President's signature health care reform law.
The law exempts churches and houses of worship from the requirement, but nonprofit, religiously affiliated groups are required either to provide contraception coverage to their employees directly or through a third-party insurer.
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Jimmy Carter for Catholic women priests 
Tourists walk down Via Roma in Lampedusa. Since the late 1990s, the Mediterranean island has been a haven for refugees and migrants. When the Arab Spring caught fire in 2011, the numbers of arrivals shot up. 
Rabbit Beach on Lampedusa has been voted one of the world's best beaches. 
A statue of the Virgin Mary overlooks the harbor. 
A boatfull of immigrants approaches the island in March 2011. 
Abandoned boats fill a ship graveyard off the harbor. 
An Italian coast guard officer checks a Tunisian fishing boat in the Mediterranean. 
A child, part of a group of migrants, arrived in Lampedusa in October. 
A Syrian boy kicks a soccer ball inside the Center for First Aid. 
A Syrian child drew this image after arriving in Lampedusa. 
A Syrian family arrives at the mosque in Catania, Italy, on nearby Sicily. 
Pope Francis celebrates the Holy Mass during his visit to the island on July 8, 2013. It was his first official trip outside Rome. Photos: Gateway for migrants, refugees The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has been vocal in its opposition to the provision, said Sister Mary Ann Walsh, a spokeswoman for the organization.
"Religious liberties and right-to-life issues are a concern," she said of the tension between American Catholic leadership and the administration. However, "the U.S. bishops have appreciated the administration's cooperation on issues of mutual concern."
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Those areas of "mutual concern" include immigration and poverty -- issues on which the President and the Pope could find common ground.
In an interview with the Italian newspaper Corriere della Sera, Obama pointed to the Pope's concern for income inequality, saying, "Given his great moral authority, when the Pope speaks it carries enormous weight."
Continuing to focus on income inequality, Obama said, "And it isn't just an economic issue, it's a moral issue. I think the Pope was speaking to the danger that over time we grow accustomed to this kind of inequality and accept it as normal. But we can't."
The President said he admires the Pope's courage to speak out on economic and social issues.
"It doesn't mean we agree on every issue, but his voice is one that I think the world needs to hear. He challenges us," Obama told the newspaper. "He implores us to remember the people, especially the poor, who are affected by the economic decisions we make."
Immigration issues
Francis underscored his commitment to the plight of immigrants during a trip last year to the Italian island of Lampedusa, a place where thousands of African migrants desperately fleeing political upheaval and poverty pour onto European shores. Many die in the attempt to cross.
Next month, a group of American Catholic leaders, including Cardinal Sean O'Malley, the archbishop of Boston, will follow suit and travel to the U.S.-Mexico border to highlight immigration concerns.
On Wednesday, the administration renewed its public call for immigration reform by backing an effort by House Democrats to force a vote on the matter.
"Immigration reform is the right thing to do for our economy, our security, and our future," the White House said in a statement.
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Tensions between the administration and many leaders in the American Catholic community began early in the President's tenure over his support for abortion rights.
A number of bishops criticized the University of Notre Dame's decision in 2009 to award Obama an honorary law degree and invite him to give the commencement address.
Relations frayed further over the contraception coverage requirement in Obamacare, leading the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops to pan the law.
"It was a very tough year," said Christopher Hale, a senior fellow with Catholics in Alliance for the Common Good who helped lead national Catholic outreach for Obama's 2012 re-election campaign. "It was hard to find any reasonable Catholic who thought the Health and Human Services mandate was handled well."
Differences over same sex-marriage only added to the strained relationship.
Seeking unity, approval
Religious experts said Francis would not have been likely to wade into politically charged conversations during the meeting.
"The Vatican has to be very careful to not create a gap between what they're saying and the bishops are saying," said Steve Schneck, director of the Institute for Policy Research and Catholic Studies at the Catholic University of America. "They will be very careful not to undercut the American bishops in that regard."
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The meeting with Francis, whose approval ratings are in the high 80s, might also boost Obama in that regard. His standing with the public has hovered in the low 40s.
After all, the Pope's name and quotes have been invoked in everything from discussions over unemployment insurance, the minimum wage and the bigger issue of income inequality.
"If I was advising President Obama, I would say the No. 1 spokesperson on American immigration reform should be Pope Francis," Hale said. "He has so much capital in this city. You have Catholics, Jews and atheists on the Hill quoting him."
House Speaker John Boehner, an Ohio Republican and a Catholic, recently invited the Pope to address a joint session of Congress.
"Everybody on the planet would like to have their picture taken with the Pope these days," Schneck said. "One of the things that would delight Obama is if some of that popularity would rub off. Given the President's current low numbers, he is hoping for a bit of a boost."
CNN's Ed Payne contributed to this report.
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