Remembering Pope Francis' visit to the United States

PHILADELPHIA -- For six days in September 2015, Pope Francis made a historic visit to the United States, visiting some of the country's biggest cities and speaking to massive crowds of the faithful along the way.

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In the span of a few days, the pope went to Washington to meet with the president and address a joint session of Congress; delivered a speech before the United Nations and visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York City; then spoke at the World Meeting of Families and celebrated Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway in Philadelphia.

Here's a complete recap of the historic papal visit:

Sept. 22, 2015

WASHINGTON

Pope Francis arrived in Washington, D.C. on the afternoon of Tuesday, Sept. 22 where he was greeted by President Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their families.



He then had a brief meeting with President Obama.



Sept. 23, 2015

Visit to the White House

Pope Francis was welcomed to the White House by President Obama on the morning of Wednesday, Sept. 23.



The pope delivered a speech on the South Lawn, where he addressed the "urgency" for action on climate change.

"It seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. When it comes to the care of our 'common home,' we are living at a critical moment of history," the pope said.



Pope mentions victims of clergy sex abuse

From there he delivered a speech to U.S. bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, where he alluded to the church child sex abuse scandal.



He did not specifically reference the pedophilia that has rocked the Roman Catholic Church, but he made mention of the victims.

"I realize how much the pain of recent years has weighed upon you and I have supported your generous commitment to bring healing to victims - in the knowledge that in healing we too are healed - and to work to ensure that such crimes will never be repeated," he said.



Canonization of Junipero Serra

The pope, who is the first Hispanic head of the Catholic Church, then went to the National Basilica for a special Mass to canonize the first Hispanic saint, Junipero Serra.

The ceremony was controversial because Serra, a Franciscan monk who worked to evangelize the California coast during the 18th century, has been criticized for using coercive force and corporal punishment on Native Americans.



Sept. 24, 2015

Address to a joint session of Congress

On the morning of Sept. 24, Pope Francis became the first pontiff to address a joint session of Congress.



Francis began by reminding lawmakers of their "responsibility as members of Congress is to enable this country, by your legislative activity, to grow as a nation."

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The pope, speaking in English, addressed a wide range of subjects, including the U.S. civil rights movement.

"Here too I think of the march which Martin Luther King led from Selma to Montgomery 50 years ago as part of the campaign to fulfill his 'dream' of full civil and political rights for African-Americans," he said.



Preaching to the homeless

From the Capitol, Francis next spoke to a more humble crowd: the homeless.

He delivered remarks at St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Washington, where homeless people were invited to hear him speak.

He started by saying how the Bible "is very clear about this: There was no room" for Jesus, Mary and Joseph, who were homeless at the time of Jesus' birth.



NEW YORK

That evening, Pope Francis arrived at JFK Airport in New York City before making his way to St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York City to lead the evening prayers, or vespers.

Once at the front of the cathedral, the pope stopped to bless a young woman in a wheelchair who cried tears of joy upon his touch.

Nuns in the pews erupted in applause when he thanked them for their service. Francis described religious sisters as "women of strength" and "fighters" who had a "spirit of courage" as they served at the forefront of the church.

He said he wanted to offer "a big thank-you and to tell you that I love you very much."



The pope raised the issue of the clergy sex-abuse crisis, by consoling clergy for the suffering the scandal had caused them.

The comments have angered advocates for victims, who say American bishops only took decisive action to stop perpetrators when lawsuits and government investigations revealed documents that showed the scope of the problem.

A Vatican spokesman defended the pope's remarks, saying it was appropriate to recognize the bishops' extensive reforms over more than a decade in response to the scandal.

Sept. 25, 2015

Address at the United Nations

On the morning of Friday, Sept. 25, the pontiff became the fourth pope to address the United Nations.

The first issue that Pope Francis addressed in his speech was the importance of protecting the environment, a common theme throughout this trip.



"The ecological crisis, and the large-scale destruction of biodiversity, can threaten the very existence of the human species," he said, according to a translated version of the speech released by the Holy See.

The pope spoke out against war and conflict, specifically citing Ukraine, Syria, Iraq, Libya, South Sudan and parts of Africa.

Towards the end of the speech, he quoted El Gaucho Martin Fierro, "a classic of literature in my native land," in order to express how people should "keep a true bond" between one another.

Multi-religous gathering at the 9/11 Memorial

Pope Francis attended a multi-religious gathering at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, with Jewish, Muslim, Sikh and other leaders involved in the ceremony.

Pope Francis said a prayer and laid a white rose at the slabs with the names of the victims by one of the two reflecting pools. He then met with several relatives of first responders who died in the attack.

"I feel many different emotions standing here at Ground Zero, where thousands of lives were taken in a senseless act of destruction. Here grief is palpable," he said.



Visit to Harlem elementary school

The pope next went to Harlem to visit Our Lady Queen of Angels Elementary School.

He met with a select group of third- and fourth-graders at the school.

Then 24 students from four Catholic schools throughout Harlem sang for the Holy Father and gave presentations on projects relating to issues important to him, such as the environment and service to others.



Greeting the faithful in Central Park

Tens of thousands of people then greeted Pope Francis as he rode through Central Park.

Some 80,000 people screamed, cheered, waved flags, and snapped pictures as the pope went by.

The attendees were issued tickets through a lottery system. Pope Francis, always smiling, waved and blessed the crowd.

A camera positioned behind the pontiff gave a look at what he saw during the parade.



Mass at Madison Square Garden

At the conclusion of the parade, the pope celebrated Mass for 18,000 people at Madison Square Garden.

Pope Francis praised big cities for their diversity and culture but warned that they can also make their people feel they don't belong, shunning them and treating them like second-class citizens.



During the Mass, Francis emphasized a point he has made throughout his U.S. trip: the need to welcome foreigners and marginalized people.

In his homily, he also cited "children who go without schooling, those deprived without medical insurance, the homeless, the forgotten elderly."

He says God "frees us from anonymity, from a life of emptiness and selfishness." He also says, "God is living in our cities," and so is the church.

PHILADELPHIA

Sept. 26, 2015

Pope Francis touched down at Philadelphia International Airport on the morning of Saturday, Sept. 26

The 'Rocky' theme played as he descended the steps. Once on the ground, he was greeted by Archbishop Charles Chaput, Gov. Tom Wolf and Mayor Michael Nutter.



In the first iconic moment of the Philly visit, the pope stopped the car he was traveling in so he could get out and embrace a young man in a wheelchair.



Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul

From there, the pope went to celebrate Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Center City Philadelphia.

In his homily, the pope said he learned about the history of the church, "the story behind its walls and windows."

He said, however, that the history of the Church in Philadelphia was about breaking down walls. He invoked the mission of Philadelphia's own St. Katharine Drexel.



"Most of you know the story of Saint Katharine Drexel, one of the great saints raised up by this local Church. When she spoke to Pope Leo XIII of the needs of the missions, the Pope - he was a very wise Pope! - asked her pointedly: 'What about you? What are you going to do?' Those words changed Katharine's life."

Speech in front of Independence Hall

At Philadelphia's iconic Independence Hall, Pope Francis gave a passionate speech on religious freedom, immigration and tolerance.

"The Quakers who founded Philadelphia were inspired by a profound evangelical sense of the dignity of each individual and the ideal of a community united by brotherly love," he said. "This conviction led them to found a colony which would be a haven of religious freedom and tolerance. That sense of fraternal concern for the dignity of all, especially the weak and the vulnerable, became an essential part of the American spirit."



"You should never be ashamed of your traditions," he said. "Do not forget the lessons you learned from your elders, which are something you can bring to enrich the life of this American land."

Pope addresses the Festival of Families

The pope's next stop was the centerpiece of his visit: the Festival of Families, the capstone event of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia.

The pope paraded down the Ben Franklin Parkway, greeting the crowd gathered for the festival.



Pope Francis was welcomed by actor Mark Wahlberg, who hosted the evening's performances.

The nearly two-hour portion of the show the pope sat through featured musicians and a series of singing and dancing acts. Among those who performed were Aretha Franklin and Andrea Bocelli.

Six families from various continents were among the speakers. They shared their hopes, dreams and fears on stage as the pontiff listened attentively. The families were from Australia, Ukraine, Jordan, Nigeria, the United States and Argentina.

Once on stage, the pontiff spoke candidly about the importance of family before an enormous crowd.

"The family is beautiful, but there's effort involved and there are problems," the pope said.



The pontiff then went off script from his prepared remarks to highlight his believe in the importance of families.

"All the love and beauty God has in himself, he gives it to the family," the pope said.

"God sent Him [Jesus] amid a family. He could do this because it was a family with a truly open heart," he continued.

The pope even joked about family life not being easy and that he knows about the problems they face, despite being a single man.

"Families have the difficulties, families fight, sometimes plates can fly. Children bring headaches. I won't speak about mother-in-laws," he said. "With families, there is always light. ... The family is like a factory of hope, a factory of Resurrection."

Sept. 27, 2015

Pope condemns clergy sex abuse

On the morning of Sept. 27, Pope Francis delivered a speech to bishops gathered at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.

He began with a strong condemnation of the clergy sex abuse scandal, then revealed his earlier meeting with victims.

A Vatican spokesman said Pope Francis met with five victims of sexual abuse: people who were victims of priests, relatives and teachers.



The Rev. Federico Lombardi said the three women and two men met with the pope for a half hour at the Saint Charles Borromeo seminary Sunday, the pope's last day in the U.S.

Lombardi said the pope prayed with the survivors, listened to their stories, expressed his closeness in their suffering and his "pain and shame" in the case of those abused by priests.

Speaking to inmates at a Philadelphia prison

Pope Francis spoke to 100 inmates at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Philadelphia, telling them "all of us have something we need to be cleansed of, or purified from."

Francis visited and met with the inmates, who he encouraged "to support one another and seek the best for others." The inmates were all 18 to 21 years old.



"This time in your life can only have one purpose: to give you a hand in getting back on the right road, to give you a hand to help you rejoin society," Francis said. "All of us are part of that effort, all of us are invited to encourage, help and enable your rehabilitation."

After he spoke, Francis walked through the aisles to shake hands with the prisoners. Several of them kissed the pontiff on the hand while others hugged him.

Surprise visit to St. Joseph's University

Pope Francis made an unscheduled stop at St. Joseph's University on his way to Sunday Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway.



There, in front of the campus chapel, the pope said hello to students and university dignitaries. He then blessed the "Synagoga and Ecclesia in Our Time" sculpture with holy water, bringing more cheers from the crowd.

Pope Francis is the first Jesuit pope, and with St. Joseph's being a Jesuit university, rumors had swirled for days beforehand that he might come to visit the campus.

Pope blesses the Knotted Grotto

Pope Francis then led a second Philadelphia parade on his way to the parkway.

The parade made an unexpected stop at the Knotted Grotto art installation outside the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.



While there, the pope blessed the 100,000 strips of white paper, bearing people's troubles and worries, which were tied to the display.

The interactive sculpture is inspired by the painting "Mary, Undoer of Knots," a favorite of the pope's.

Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway

Finally, capping a historic weekend for the City of Brotherly Love, Pope Francis then celebrated Mass in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art for a crowd that numbers in the hundreds of thousands.

He touched on the importance of family, an appropriate topic as the World Meeting of Families came to an end.



"Like the warm supper we look forward to at night, the early lunch awaiting someone who gets up early to go to work. Homely gestures. Like a blessing before we go to bed, or a hug after we return from a hard day's work.

"Love is shown by little things, by attention to small daily signs which make us feel at home. Faith grows when it is lived and shaped by love. That is why our families, our homes, are true domestic churches. They are the right place for faith to become life, and life to become faith," Francis said.

He acknowledged the large crowd that had gathered to see him, calling it a "miracle.'

"How many of us are here at this celebration! This is itself something prophetic, a kind of miracle in today's world," he said.

Pope Francis leaves Philadelphia

At the conclusion of Mass, Pope Francis made his way to Philadelphia International Airport to board an American Airlines jet, designated "Shepherd One," for a flight back to Rome.

But he had one final message for everyone who came to greet him during his American visit.

"My days here have been brief, but they have been days of great grace for me and, I pray, for you, too.

"May our days together bear fruit that will last, generosity and care for others that will endure!

"I will pray for you and your families, and I ask you, please, to pray for me. May God bless you all. God bless America!"