Schedule Announced for Pope Francis' Visit to DC

PHOTO: Pope Francis; photo courtesy of The Vatican/L’Osservatore Romano

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The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops has released the schedule for Pope Francis’ visit to the United States in September including his schedule in D.C.

Tuesday, Sept. 22

• 4 p.m. Arrival from Cuba at Joint Base Andrews

Wednesday, Sept. 23

• 9:15 a.m. Meeting with President Obama at the White House
  
• 11:30 a.m. Midday Prayer with the bishops of the United States, St. Matthew’s Cathedral
• 4:15 p.m. Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra, Basilicia of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception
  

Thursday, Sept. 24

• 9:20 a.m. Address to Joint Session of the United States Congress
  
• 11:15 a.m. Visit to St. Patrick in the City and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
• 4:00 p.m. Depart from Joint Base Andrews

The Pope will then head to New York and Philadelphia before departing to Rome. There are also reports that the Pope plans has added Cuba to his schedule.

Here’s information about the Pope, from the Vatican Web site:

The first Pope of the Americas Jorge Mario Bergoglio hails from Argentina. The 76-year-old Jesuit Archbishop of Buenos Aires is a prominent figure throughout the continent, yet remains a simple pastor who is deeply loved by his diocese, throughout which he has travelled extensively on the underground and by bus during the 15 years of his episcopal ministry.

“My people are poor and I am one of them”, he has said more than once, explaining his decision to live in an apartment and cook his own supper. He has always advised his priests to show mercy and apostolic courage and to keep their doors open to everyone. The worst thing that could happen to the Church, he has said on various occasions, “is what de Lubac called spiritual worldliness”, which means, “being self-centred”. And when he speaks of social justice, he calls people first of all to pick up the Catechism, to rediscover the Ten Commandments and the Beatitudes. His project is simple: if you follow Christ, you understand that “trampling upon a person’s dignity is a serious sin”.

Despite his reserved character — his official biography consists of only a few lines, at least until his appointment as Archbishop of Buenos Aires — he became a reference point because of the strong stances he took during the dramatic financial crisis that overwhelmed the country in 2001.