The Vatican confirmed on Wednesday that Pope Francis discreetly met with embattled Kentucky County Clerk Kim Davis during his visit to the U.S. last week.

Davis and her attorney on Tuesday evening said she had a meeting with the pope on Sept. 24 at the Vatican Embassy in Washington, D.C. Pope Francis is said to have expressed support for Davis' decision to refuse same-sex marriage licenses despite the Supreme Court effectively legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide. Davis spent six days in jail.

While there was initially a dispute over the validity of the story, the Vatican confirmed the meeting to the New York Times on Wednesday.

The story first appeared on the website Inside The Vatican and was then shared in a statement on the website for Staver's law firm:

During the meeting Pope Francis said, "Thank you for your courage." Pope Francis also told Kim Davis, "Stay strong. He held out his hands and asked Kim to pray for him. Kim held his hands and said, "I will. Please pray for me," and the Pope said he would. The two embraced. The Pontiff presented Kim and Joe Davis each with a Rosary that he personally blessed. Kim's mother and father are Catholic, and Kim and Joe will present the Rosaries to her parents.

For her part, Davis, an Apostolic Christian, said she never thought she would meet the pope.

"Who am I to have this rare opportunity? I am just a County Clerk who loves Jesus and desires with all my heart to serve him," Davis said in the statement.

Staver repeated the story to CBS News Tuesday evening. On his flight back to Rome after his U.S. visit, Pope Francis did, in a roundabout way, defend Davis' actions.

When asked a question about conscientious objection that did not mention Davis' case specifically, but did allude to issuing same-sex marriage licenses, Pope Francis answered: "I can't have in mind all the cases that can exist about conscientious objection … but yes, I can say that conscientious objection is a right that is a part of every human right. It is a right. And if a person does not allow others to be a conscientious objector, he denies a right."

He added: "It is a human right and if a government official is a human person, he has that right. It is a human right."

Pope Francis has said in the past that he supports the church teaching that marriage is between a man and a woman, but in 2013 he said he wouldn't judge gay worshippers who seek God.

In 2014, the pope put together a team of Roman Catholic bishops, who released a 12-page report urging the church to welcome gay people, who "have gifts and qualities to offer the Christian community" as well as divorced people and unmarried couples.