Pope Francis Arrives in US

“When the president sits down with Pope Francis tomorrow in the Oval Office, the president will not arrive at that meeting with a political agenda”.

The pope, a 78-year-old native of Argentina, is highly popular among Americans.

Catholics in the Lowcountry say they are excited for the visit of the pontiff who has been nicknamed “the people’s Pope”.

The pope has no public events scheduled this evening, but he was met at the base by President Barack Obama, the Obama family, Vice President Joe Biden and his wife, along with other dignitaries including Catholic Church leaders.

During the presser, the pope also previewed his Thursday morning speech to a joint session of Congress. It will cover “bilateral relations and multinational relations as a sign of progress and coexistence”, he said.

Francis has a rigorous itinerary in store during his six-day trip to the country.

Defending his views in a brief news conference aboard the papal plane, Francis said that his positions on economics, Western imperialism and the environment come from the social doctrine of the Catholic Church. While the pope will deliver a number of talks and homilies in English, he is not fully fluent, preferring to speak his native Spanish, so a translator will always be nearby.

“There are so many Cardinals and Bishops who are just about fit to be tied, because they never dreamed that we would have someone like this leading our Church”, he said.

“With Pope Francis being the pope of the people, it makes it exciting”.

Obama and the pope meet more formally on Wednesday at the White House where the atmosphere is likely to be cordial.

“For the nunciature, first, it was very clear that I was not going to give audiences because not only the dissidents asked for audiences, but also audiences (were requested) from other sectors, including from the chief of state”.

Pope Francis’ USA visit spans September 22-27.

Francis ended a four-day Cuba trip and headed to the United States with a message of reconciliation for the former Cold War foes while avoiding controversy on the U.S. trade embargo or human rights on the Communist-run island.