Pope Francis greeted by Obamas as he makes first U.S. visit

The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff stepped onto USA soil for the first time at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, where he was greeted by US President Barack Obama, his wife Michelle and their two daughters.

The pope’s aircraft, dubbed Shepherd 1, touched down at 3:49 p.m.at the suburban Washington D.C. base.

Obama, his family and Vice President Joe Biden greeted the pope in an honor given to few foreign dignitaries.

“You have people from two different parties who are card-carrying, praticing Catholics who really believe that they want to follow the pope and the church’s teaching”, said Monsignor Kevin Irwin of Catholic University of America”.

Rand Paul says he hopes Pope Francis’ message to Congress during his visit to the United States isn’t “overly critical” of the capitalist system and our country. In heavily Latino Los Angeles a year ago , there were more infant baptisms than in New York, Chicago, Philadelphia and Washington combined. The pope tours a homeless-assistance center operated by St. Patrick’s in the City in downtown Washington.

The pope’s homily was the latest in a series of carefully worded critiques of Cuba’s atheist communist government.

Back at home, the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend plans to cover the Pope’s visit to the United States.

Conservative Rep. Steve King (R-IA) this week urged Pope Francis to steer away from the “politics” of climate change and income inequality during his Thursday address to Congress, and instead focus on issues King deems more appropriate for the Catholic church: abortion and marriage.

Pope Francis arrives at the Apostolic Nunciature, the Vatican’s diplomatic mission in the heart of Washington, Tuesday, September 22, 2015, in a Fiat 500. “Let me tell you she’s been planning all of these events for a very long time, both the Pope visit, the state visit with China, as well as the United Nations – all of those fall under her portfolio”, Jarrett said. “He invites us slowly to overcome our preconceptions and our reluctance to think that others, much less ourselves, can change”, he said.

Later Monday, Francis will head to Cuba’s second-largest city, Santiago, where he will visit the shrine of the Virgin of Charity, Cuba’s patron saint, in the nearby town of Cobre. The pontiff meets with Catholic bishops as part of the World Meeting of Families.