Kim Davis' attorney claims she met with Pope Francis during his U.S. visit

The lawyer for Kim Davis, the Kentucky county clerk famous for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples, claims that his client had a top-secret meeting with Pope Francis during his busy trip to the United States last week.

Mat Staver told USA Today Tuesday that on Thursday, Davis and her husband, Joe, went to the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C., for a confidential summit with the pontiff. Staver said it was the Vatican that made the first move, reaching out to other parties, who then contacted him. He didn't go with Davis to the meeting, he said, but was there when she was picked up, and while she spent two hours at the embassy, Davis only had 15 minutes with the pope. The Vatican has not confirmed that this meeting took place.

Pope Francis, Staver said, "held out his hands and asked Kim to pray. He thanked her for her courage. He said these words, 'Stay strong,' and they embraced and hugged." Staver said the pope spoke in English, and gave Davis two rosaries that he blessed, which she plans on giving to her parents, who are "lifelong Catholics." His client was "amazed" by the experience, Staver said, and "never imagined in her life that she would meet with the pope." The alleged meeting, he said, "sends a worldwide message that the pope stands on the side of religious freedom."

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Meanwhile, Staver's firm, Liberty Counsel, said Tuesday it was an "honest mistake" that the organization had been circulating a photo that it claimed was of a massive prayer rally in Peru in support of Davis, but was actually of an entirely unrelated event. The photo had been uploaded to Facebook in May 2014, ThinkProgress reports, and was taken during a convention called "Jesus Loves You and Changes You."