Pope Francis, the leader of the Catholic Church, will be making a historic six day visit to the United States beginning Sept. 22.
The Pope will travel to the cities of Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia on this first visit to the United States. USA Today reported that church officials estimate one-and-a-half millon people at the Pope’s closing ceremonies in Philadelphia and tens of thousands of more visitors in each city.
KnightNews.com will be one of those visitors, reporting from D.C on Sept. 23.
Pope Francis will arrive in the United States at Andrews Air Force Base and will be greeted by the President and First Lady.
Once in Washington, Pope Francis will visit the White House, lead a prayer at St. Matthew’s Cathedral and host a canonization Spanish Mass at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. Click here for a full schedule of the Pope’s visit.
“We see this as an opportunity to continue our engagement with Pope Francis and the Vatican, but also to receive the visit of a leader who is incredibly important to many Americans and many people around the world,” Deputy National Security Advisor for Strategic Communications Ben Rhodes said in a White House press call.
According to a CBS News poll, “Eight in 10 American Catholics approve of the direction Pope Francis is leading the Church, including more than half (53 percent) who say they approve strongly. Just 9 percent of American Catholics disapprove.” The poll also said that seventy-six percent of catholics believe the Church direction has changed “at least somewhat” under his leadership.
“The Pope has been a leading voice for peace and for dialogue between people of different faiths and nations. He has been a strong voice on behalf of religious freedom, including for persecuted minorities in places like the Middle East, to include Christian communities and also other minority religious communities,” Rhodes said.
Currently, Pope Francis is visiting Cuba. After meeting with Fidel Castro, Pope Francis “delivered a sermon in which he praised the ‘spirit of poverty’ and warned against wealth,” ABC News reported.
To stay caught up in the life of Pope Francis, follow his Twitter @Pontifex.
Check back on KnightNews.com for continued coverage of Pope Francis vising the United States.
