President Barack Obama and the first lady Michelle Obama will welcome Pope Francis personally the moment he arrives in the us for a historic visit.
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The pope is expected to arrive in the Capitol at 4 p.m. Tuesday, September 22 at the Joint Base Andrews military facility, which is located a few miles outside the district in Maryland.
The crowd will include leaders of major evangelical groups, liberal Protestants and a Roman Catholic nun who leads bus tours advocating for social justice.
Lopez also went on to say Francis is a “progressive pope” who has brought a wonderful energy into faith across the world.
Despite the expected traffic effects, the officials at Thursday’s briefing were thrilled for the impact the pope’s upcoming stay might have on the region, especially for its hospitality and tourism sectors.
Mayor Muriel Bowser said she will meet the Pope while he’s in the city, calling him “in so many ways a breath of fresh air”. On Thursday, September 24, the Mall will be outfitted with large video screens showing Francis’s address to Congress, which a representative from the Archdiocese of Washington said will be delivered in English.
On September 26 and 27, Pope Francis will be in Philadelphia.
Anticipation about the papal visit has been growing all summer at St. Peter’s through an adult education class focusing on the pope’s recent encyclical on the environment, and parishioners are encouraged to take pictures with a “flat Francis” (like the popular “Flat Stanley”, a paper figure that is photographed in various locations).
Francis and Obama will talk privately after the South Lawn reception.
“It is not necessarily routine for the president to greet the foreign leader at Andrews”, White House deputy press secretary Eric Schultz told reporters Wednesday.
“When you have someone in that kind of position saying compassionate, loving statements like that, that’s what’s going to draw the Catholic community together”.
“The Catechism of the Catholic Church explains this in a attractive way”, the pope said.
Asked about differences over birth control, abortion and same-sex marriage, Hackett said: “There are differences”. While there, the pope will make an appearance at the World Meeting of Families which is a Catholic conference on family values.
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With so many attendees at the reception, Ledesma isn’t expecting to meet Francis face-to-face.
