After shaking hands with Obama and First Lady Michelle Obama, the Pope turned to greet their daughters and the Biden family.
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Meanwhile, 37 boys from the DeMatha Catholic High School Wind Ensemble, dressed in maroon and navy blazers, warmed up their instruments and the crowd as they awaited the pope’s arrival, the Associated Press said.
Now that his three-city, nonstop American tour has officially started, Pope Francis may occasionally have to keep an eye on the time.
Pope Francis said farewell to Cuba Tuesday morning and headed north for his very first visit to the United States.
Pope Francis will visit the White House on Wednesday, becoming only the third pope to visit the White House.
Pope Francis launched his first visit to the United States with a characteristic gesture of humility on Tuesday, and sent a conciliatory message to the world’s wealthiest nation about his frequent criticism of capitalism.
He is later expected to address the U.S. Congress in the capital city, and then proceed to New York and Philadelphia, where tickets to see the pope ran out in two minutes.
Tonight, the pope will stay in Washington at the Vatican Embassy.
10 a.m.: Overcast skies await Pope Francis upon his arrival in Washington this afternoon. While many critics – even within the Catholic faith – continue to criticize the pontiff for his polarizing proclamations, the Obama administration has received much of the backlash regarding how the visit is being conducted.
Other topics in his addresses will include critiques of the dominance of finance and technology; a condemnation of world powers over the conflicts gripping the planet; appeals to protect and welcome immigrants; and climate change, according to Vatican sources. “The calling to respect all people, to treat everyone with dignity, and the obligation and responsibility we all have to take care of children, the elderly, the powerless, the hungry, and the forgotten – those most in need with the least among us”.
“It is a public thing that is moving along the path of the good relations they are looking for”, Francis told reporters on the papal plane as he flew to Washington from Cuba for a six-day visit to the United States.
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During his brief flight to the US from Cuba, Francis defended himself against conservative criticism of his economic views. However, he had greeted all those invited to meet him on the steps of Havana Cathedral – who may have included dissidents.
