Pope Francis is just hours away from arriving to the USA and he is topping off his visit to Cuba celebrating another mass in Santiagao de Cuba attended by thousands.
He will be greeted by President Barack Obama as he arrives in Washington DC, this afternoon on his first leg of a 3 city tour or a six-day sweep through Washington, New York and Philadelphia.
Tuesday, Sept. 22
4 p.m. — President Obama greets Pope Francis as he arrives at Joint Base Andrews.
Wednesday, Sept. 23
9:15 a.m. — President Obama welcomes the pope to the White House.
11:30 a.m. — The pope leads a prayer at St. Matthew’s Cathedral with U.S. bishops.
4:15 p.m. — Pope Francis holds a canonization Mass in Spanish for 25,000 ticket holders at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. It is the first-ever canonization Mass on U.S. soil.
Thursday, Sept. 24
10 a.m. — The Senate and House welcome the pope in a joint session. He will make the first-ever address to Congress, which will broadcast live on the Capitol’s West Front. This speech will be one of four he will hold in English. The remaining 14 speeches on his U.S. trip will be in his native Spanish.
11 a.m. — He makes a stop on the Capitol’s West Front, which overlooks the National Mall.
11:15 a.m. — St. Patrick’s Catholic Church and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese host Pope Francis. Only 60 parishioners culled from a lottery of church volunteers and about 250 clients and volunteers from Catholic Charities will be allowed in during the visit. Catholic Charities St. Maria’s Meals, which offers three weekly food programs in the Washington area, plans to have 55 tables set up for the poor and homeless to be served lunch as the pope blesses the food and walks through.
4 p.m. — The pope departs from Washington via Joint Base Andrews for New York.
5 p.m. — Arrives in New York through John F. Kennedy International Airport.
6:45 p.m. — The pope holds an evening prayer service at St. Patrick’s Cathedral.
Friday, Sept. 25
8:30 a.m. — Pope Francis meets with the United Nations General Assembly. It’s the 70th anniversary of the U.N.
11:30 a.m. — A multireligious service is held at the 9/11 Memorial Museum.
4 p.m. — The pope visits Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem.
5 p.m. — He will lead a procession through Central Park. About 80,000 tickets were awarded by the city in a lottery pick.
6 p.m. — Mass is held in Madison Square Garden. The chair he will sit on was built by mostly immigrant day laborers. Young men at Lincoln Hall Boys Haven in Lincolndale built the altar.
Saturday, Sept. 26
8:40 a.m. — Pope Francis departs New York for Philadelphia through John F. Kennedy International Airport.
9:30 a.m. — Arrives at Atlantic Aviation.
10:30 a.m. — Mass is held at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.
4:45 p.m. — The pope visits Independence Mall — the birthplace of American democracy. This historic area of Philadelphia is home to the Liberty Bell, and Independence Hall, where the Declaration of Independence and Constitution were signed.
7:30 p.m. — Pope Francis stops by the Festival of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway and holds a prayer vigil with the World Meeting of Families — the largest meeting of Catholic families held every three years. Singer Arethra Franklin will perform for the Pope as well as Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, Colombian singer/songwriter Juanes, the Philadelphia Orchestra, The Fray, comedian Jim Gaffigan and Mark Wahlberg — who will host the event.
Sunday, Sept. 27
9:15 a.m. — He holds a papal meeting with bishops at St. Martin’s Chapel of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, right outside Philadelphia.
11 a.m. — The pope visits Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. Inmates at a neighboring prison — Philadelphia Industrial Correctional Center — built the chair that the pope will sit on. Several inmates learned carpentry through vocational workshops.
4 p.m. — Mass is held with the World Meeting of Families.
7 p.m. — At Atlantic Aviation, he talks with organizers, volunteers and benefactors of the World Meeting of Families. Philadelphia International Airport expects 20%-25% more passengers traveling during the pope’s visit — that’s similar to a very busy Thanksgiving holiday.
8 p.m. — Pope Francis departs for Rome.
Source: USA Today/ABC News
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