Pope Francis’s first visit to the United States came to three historic northeast cities in September of 2015.
Starting in Washington D.C., his schedule was filled with presidential visits and a historic joint address to Congress, but what people noticed the most was the pope of the people choosing hatchbacks over limousines and taking quick leaves from escorts to greet the faithful face to face.
In an address on the White House lawn, years before immigration became a political flashpoint, the pope embraced its American roots.
“As the son of an immigrant family I am happy to be a guest in this country which was largely built by such families,” he said that day.
In New York City, Pope Francis led prayers at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, one of the nation’s most famous churches on Fifth Avenue.
On the way to a more massive mass at the garden, as in Madison Square Garden, tens of thousands of people poured into the streets around Central Park to be in his mid-town presence.
He toured ground zero and the 9-11 Memorial, and in a historic address to the United Nations General Assembly, the pope emphasized unity.
The Pope then rode Marine One over city traffic to John F. Kennedy Airport for the short flight to Philadelphia.
There was unprecedented security there too, as Pope Francis brought the “City of Brotherly Love” together. Major highways were shut down and one became the scene of a million person mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The Pope and the Pope Mobile toured streets lined with love and spoke at the birthplace of the United States, Independence Hall.
