On Tuesday, September 22, Pope Francis arrived in Washington D.C. to commence his near week long tour of three cities within the States. The Pope’s trip had been in the planning process for a couple of years, with the Pope coming to meet with people in the government and to tour a few of the most populated cities in the country.
Once in D.C., the Pope received a welcome ceremony from President Obama and his family, followed by a parade and mid-day mass at Saint Matthew’s Cathedral. The Pope’s packed first day concluded with a second Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. ‘Papa Francisco’s’ second day in the nation’s capital began with a historic speech to the Joint Session of Congress, receiving applause on different social issues from both Republicans and Democrats.
Michael O’Loughlin from the Catholic news website “Crux” called the Pope’s speech to Congress “progressive”, discussing immigration, abortion, and the “[condemnment] of extremism and fundamentalism”, dealing with religion “or any kind”. The Pope even went so far as to quote Dr. Martin Luther King, relating the march of Selma to the injustices put against illegal immigrants of today.
Pope Francis left later that day and departed for New York City, which he later came up with a new word to describe the city and its people as “stralimitata”. The New Yorker translated it as “beyond all limits”, while the New York Times translated it as “exuberant.” The Pope’s much anticipated mass at Madison Square Garden took place following a day of visiting schools in Harlem and a service at the 9/11 Memorial. The Mass concluded with Pope Francis saying, “Don’t forget to pray for me”, his signature closing line at nearly all of the places he visited.
The Pope’s final two days were spent in Philadelphia, with different churches and schools inviting the Pope to hold Mass and talk to the children, as the Pope has been quoted saying, “God has no problem being understood by children.” His belief that children are the most important has been the topic of discussion at many events, not only in the U.S. but abroad. Upon the Pope’s departure for Rome, his visit was mainly declared a success, with Scott Malone of the website “Reuters” calling Francis a “Pope of the people, and the Politics.” ABC News says that the “Pope is welcome back at any time”, giving 11 reasons why, with the top reason being that Francis reminded the American people of the importance of family.
