Pope Francis Arrives in United States, Greeted by President Obama

Pope Francis touched down Tuesday at Joint Base Andrews military facility today in Maryland, greeted by President Obama, first lady Michelle Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and Jill Biden as well as other officials including Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe and DC Mayor Muriel Bowser.

Schoolchildren from area schools stood on bleachers and a school band warmed up the crowd under overcast skies while they waited for the pope’s plane to land. Cardinal Donald Wuerl, Archbishop of Washington greeted the crowd.

A cheer went up from the assembled crowd as the pope’s plane touched down at 3:49 p.m. ET with, as MSNBC reported, 72 members of the media on board with Pope Francis on the Alitalia flight. As it taxied up to waiting steps, flags from the United States and Vatican City, attached to the front of the plane, fluttered in the breeze.

Also read: Pope Francis Visits DC: Your Guide

After greeting officials and schoolchildren, the pope popped into a Fiat.

During Pope Francis’ visit to the nation’s capital, the first leg of a three-city trip to the United States, it will be the first time ever that a Pope will have the opportunity to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress. When the Pope enters the House Chamber, he will be escorted on the floor to the rostrum by a bipartisan group of Catholic lawmakers — there is also a strong possibility that a number of Supreme Court justices will attend (six out of the nine sitting justices identify as Catholic), according to the National Catholic Register.

The following day, the pope, 78, will meet with Obama, pray midday prayer with bishops at St. Matthew’s Cathedral, and canonize Blessed Junipero Serra during a Mass at the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception. On Thursday, the pontiff will deliver a speech to a joint-meeting of Congress, pay a visit to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, and visit several Catholic charities associated with the Archdiocese of Washington.

His visit to the nation’s capital is a massive security challenge for federal and local police and even includes no parking around DC’s electric utility substations. More than 50 blue US Postal Service mailboxes have been removed.

In Washington, Francis will bed down in the Apostolic Nunciature on Massachusetts Avenue, effectively the Vatican’s embassy, according to USA Today.