Mr Trump, the presumptive Republican presidential candidate, tweeted on Friday that Indiana Governor Mike Pence would be his running mate.

Mr Pence has previously described himself as a "pretty ordinary Christian" and as "a Christian, a conservative and a Republican, in that order".

But he also once said, "I made a commitment to Christ. I'm a born-again, evangelical Catholic".

He was raised Catholic, but later attended an evangelical mega-church.

Growing up in an Irish Catholic family that reportedly revered the Kennedys, Mr Pence served as an altar boy and went to parochial school.

He has said he made a "commitment to Christ" while taking part in a nondenominational Christian student group in college.

As a member of the US House from 2000 until his election as governor, Mr Pence's actions included: Opposition to the expansion of abortion rights and federal spending on embryonic stem cell research, pushing a constitutional amendment against same-sex marriage and briefly cutting off new federal funding for Planned Parenthood.

Last year, he said "calls to ban Muslims from entering the US are offensive and unconstitutional".

Pundits have said one reason Mr Trump may pick Mr Pence is that the governor's strong pro-Israel sentiment would shore up Mr Trump's shaky relationship with Jewish voters.

Last year, Mr Pence supported Indiana's Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which would have allowed businesses and individuals to refuse to do business with some people, based on their own religious beliefs.

But shortly after signing the bill into law, he had to sign a revised version after major corporations, organisations and celebrities vowed to boycott Indiana.

In 2009, Mr Pence was asked if he believes in evolution.

He replied: "I believe with all my heart that God created the heavens and the earth, the seas and all that is in them . . . How he did that, I'll ask him about some day."

Sources

• Religion News Service
• The Guardian
• Image: Reuters

His vice-presidential choice is well-known for his pro-life advocacy and his conservative economic views.

Explaining his pro-life position, Ryan has said: "I cannot believe any official or citizen can still defend the notion that an unborn human being has no rights that an older person is bound to respect."

As for his economic views, he was architect of a federal budget condemned by Catholic bishops as failing a "basic moral test" in that it slashed food assistance to the poor and radically redefined safety net programmes such as Medicare.

Ryan, 42, contended that the poor are hurt more by extreme levels of government debt than by budget reductions. He defended his fiscal positions against critics in a lecture at Jesuit-affiliated Georgetown University last April. He cited Catholic social teaching principles of subsidiarity and solidarity and charged that "government-centred" approaches to poverty have failed.

Paul Ryan has been criticised for the formative influence of the laissez-faire capitalist philosopher Ayn Rand on his economic outlook. However he has publicly renounced Ayn Rand's philosophy. He said: "It's an atheist philosophy. It reduces human interactions down to mere contracts and it is antithetical to my worldview."

Introducing Ryan as his running mate, Romney declared: "Paul is in public life for all the right reasons — not to advance his personal ambitions but to advance the ideals of freedom and justice; and to increase opportunity and prosperity to people of every class and faith, every age and ethnic background. A faithful Catholic, Paul believes in the worth and dignity of every human life."

Paul Ryan has signed the National Organization of Marriage's pledge to defend marriage as a union of a man and a woman and to seek the appointment of judges who will defend marriage.

Sources:

Catholic News Agency

National Catholic Register

Image: Daily Mail