Joe Biden walked among tombstones to reach mass at his local church in Delaware on Saturday, as critics continue to question impact of his unprecedented age.

The 80 year-old president was pictured in a series of striking snaps strolling among lichen-covered headstones at St Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington Saturday night.

Images of Biden’s walk, filed by wire agencies, will likely remind voters of the president’s advancing years. He is the oldest US leader in history, and will be 86 by the time his second term in office finishes, if he wins the 2024 election.

Biden has claimed he’s fit enough to continue as president.

But regular stumbles – both physical and mental – have raised concerns over his health. And those gaffes have also raised fears his unpopular Vice President Kamala Harris could become president by default if he dies suddenly while in office.

Biden and First Lady Jill were seen socializing with the priest and fellow church goers after the mass at the church, which they have been attending for years.

The couple have spent the last week at their home in Delaware, enjoying bike rides and beach days away from the bustle of DC politics.

The photos come as the 80-year-old incumbent president gears up to run for reelection in 2024. When he entered office, aged 78, he was the oldest presidential candidate to have ever been elected.

Donald Trump, 77, isn’t too far behind Biden, but gives the impression of having a more youthful vigor than the man who booted him from office. 

The President’s first term has been marked by a series of high-profile gaffes, falls and signs of disorientation – most famously stumbling up the steps of Air Force One and falling off his bike during a previous Delaware vacation. 

Throughout his administration his critics have questioned the impact of his age on his performance in the White House – and those questions continue to intensify.

An NBC  poll last month found that his own party is split as to whether he should run for office again, with many citing concerns over his age and health.

Nearly 70 percent were concerned he does not possess the ‘necessary’ mental and physical health and 55 percent responded that they have ‘major’ concerns.

And the White House has fought back against that criticism. A report authored by the White House physician, Dr. Kevin C. O’Connor, and published in February declared Biden to be ‘a healthy, vigorous 80-year-old male’.

Biden, 80, walks between tombstones outside St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church

Biden and First Lady Jill were seen socializing with fellow church goers outside St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church, where they have been attending mass for years

‘President Biden remains a healthy, vigorous, 80-year-old male, who is fit to successfully execute the duties of the Presidency,’ wrote O’Connor.

It did however flag that he suffers from a handful of ailments: ‘Significant spinal arthritis’, neuropathy in his feet and the lasting effects of having broken his foot in November 2020.

‘The President’s gait remains stiff, but has not worsened since last year,’ wrote the physician. 

Biden was also showing signs of ‘cognitive impairment’ – it has been noted that the stress of another presidency could deteriorate his condition further.

Dr Elena Mucci, a geriatric doctor and American College of Physicians member, told DailyMail.com at the time the report was published: ‘If I was his geriatrician, I would discourage him from campaigning. I’d strongly advocate against it.’ 

She added: ‘If you were to survey healthcare professionals, geriatricians, cardiologists, I don’t think you will find a single physician who would say it’s a good thing for an 86-year-old to with the symptoms he’s demonstrated to us already to become a president, both for the sake of his own health and for the sake of his country.’

Joe Biden walks through a graveyard as he arrives for Saturday Mass. Trailing him is a stone crucifix on the grounds of St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church

President Joe Biden shakes hands with a priest as he walks out of St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church in Wilmington, Deaware

During the 2020 election campaign, it was reported that Biden himself realized his age meant he would be a one-term president.

He was reportedly happy to bridge the gap between the divisive Trump administration, and whichever rising Democrat star appeared during his first term in office. 

But Biden, who ran for president twice prior to finally winning on his third attempt, now shows no indication of relinquishing his position.

Part of the problem is that there’s no obvious successor. VP Harris’ ratings are worse than his – and no other Democrats are considered strong contenders. 

Biden also has a history of atrial fibrillation, or an irregular heartbeat, which he has suffered since 2003. He takes the blood thinner apixaban, brand name Eliquis, to treat the heart condition.

Dr Stuart Fischer, an internal medicine physician in New York, told DailyMail.com: ‘The increased risk is not only from the fibrillation but from secondary effects from the medicine.

‘These people take blood thinners and when people take these drugs, they are at risk for internal bleeding or serious consequences from a fall.’

Earlier this year, Biden stumbled up the stairs of Air Force One as he headed back to the United States after a three-day visit to Europe.

He fell up the same stairs just two months into his presidency in March 2021. In June, he also fell off his bike while spending a weekend away in Rehoboth Beach, Delaware. Dr Fischer said the older people get, the more frequent and severe the falls become.

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The photos come as the 80-year-old incumbent president gears up to run for reelection in 2024. He is seen leaving St. Joseph on the Brandywine Catholic Church on Saturday

He said: ‘[If] someone falls and hits their head or hips while on a blood thinner, there is more of a chance of a medical emergency than for people not on anticoagulants.’

‘A head injury when someone is an anticoagulant is potentially disastrous,’ he said.

Last year he shot down claims he is too old and mentally unfit to be president. ‘Watch me,’ he told CBS correspondent Scott Pelley during an interview. But Dr Mucci said it is common for people to downplay their cognitive difficulties. 

‘Whether you’re going to lose your presidency, or lose your driving license or lose your job, subjectively, you will be under-appreciating your symptoms, and not putting enough importance to those symptoms,’ she said.

‘I think [Biden] knows exactly what is going on, but he’s not openly acknowledged it because he doesn’t want to lose that presidency.’

Biden’s health issues and old age raise his risk of dementia, according to Dr Dung Trinh, an internal medicine physician in California.

He told DailyMail.com: ‘As we get older, we lose around one percent of our brain volume per year.

‘The risk of developing Alzheimer’s for someone who’s 70 versus the risk of developing Alzheimer’s for someone who’s 65 – that risk doubles in five years.’