Tentative Schedule for Pope Francis’ Trip to the United States Released

NEW YORK- Pope Francis will lead an ecumenical meeting for peace at the National September 11 Memorial & Museum in New York during his first trip to the United States in September, according to the USA Conference of Catholic Bishops.

The pope will arrive in the United States from Cuba at Joint Base Andrews near Washington in the late afternoon on September 22. On his third day in Washington, he will address a joint session of Congress before leaving for New York.

Because the original reason for this visit (planned by Francis’ predecessor, Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI) was to visit Philadelphia for the church’s World Meeting of Families, much of the planning was geared toward making that final stop the biggest public splash.

Pope Francis will meet with homeless people, immigrants and prisoners during his upcoming trip to Cuba and the United States.

The pope is to arrive in the Washington, D.C., area, where later he’s expected to officiate the Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra, the 18th Century Spanish cleric who founded Catholic missions throughout California. Dolan said tickets for the events would be distributed through the archdiocese’s parishes.

Large viewing screens are to be arrange on the college’s campus, and the Mass will probably be in Spanish, Francis’ native language, Wuerl stated.

For two days, the City of Brotherly Love will be the City of Pope Francis, transformed by an influx of out of towners and the logistical toll of a visit from the leader of the world’s 1.1 billion Catholics.

Wuerl stated he didn’t know what the pope’s message to Congress can be, however that he can be “talking as a pastor”. It is hoped that the location will have the ability to accommodate about 25,000 individuals.

Vatican spokesman the Rev. Federico Lombardi told reporters Tuesday that he didn’t know what the pope would do and had no confirmation that he might chew the coca leaf.

That’s in addition to the pope’s address in front of Independence Hall on immigration to an audience expected to be made up mainly of Latinos.

At St. Patrick Church, the Holy Father will meet with clients of Catholic Charities, and then he will offer a blessing and remarks to those gathered for lunch at the St. Maria Meals Program outside the agency’s headquarters.

“To have someone of his stature say we are all part of the same family is something that I think people want to hear”, he said.

On Sunday morning, he will meet with cardinals and bishops attending the World Meeting at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary and with inmates at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.