Pope in Cuba; Next Stops D.C., NYC, Philly

Pope Francis promoted reconciliation between Cuba and the United States when he landed in Havana at the beginning of his journey.

In his address at the airport, the pope said, according to Vatican news:

“Geographically, Cuba is an archipelago, facing all directions, with an extraordinary value as a “key” between north and south, east and west. Its natural vocation is to be a point of encounter for all peoples to join in friendship, as José Martí dreamed, “regardless of the languages of isthmuses and the barriers of oceans” (La Conferencia Monetaria de las Repúblicas de América, in Obras escogidas II, La Habana, 1992, 505).”

Pope Francis will leave Cuba and arrive in Washington, D.C. at 4 p.m. on Tuesday, head to New York City on Thursday and then go to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families on Sept. 26.

The US Conference of Catholic Bishops offers 10 ways to participate in his visit here.

Here is his itinerary for the New York part of the trip, according to the Vatican:

Thursday, 24 September 2015

17:00 Arrival at JFK Airport in New York

18:45 Vespers with the Clergy, Men and Women Religious at St Patrick’s Cathedral in New York

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]

Friday, 25 September 2015

08:30 Visit to the Headquarters of the United Nations
[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]

11:30 Interreligious encounter at the Ground Zero memorial in New York

[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]

16:00 Visit to “Our Lady, Queen of the Angels” School and meeting with children and families of migrantsin New York (Harlem)

18:00 Holy Mass at the Madison Square Garden in New York
[Arabic, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Spanish]

Saturday, 26 September 2015

08:40 Departure by plane for Philadelphia

RELATED:

• Pope Francis: The New York Itinerary
• Pope’s Visit Could Be Hell On Earth for Traffic
• Altar for Pope Francis Visit Constructed in Port Chester
• Lincoln Hall Students Building Altar for Pope’s Visit

New York City officials have yet to issue any official instructions on how to avoid Pope gridlock. (Unlike in New Jersey, where state police drew up an ominous map and issued a statement advising residents ”to treat this event like they would a forecasted snowstorm.”)

However, as a general rule, staying as far away from the above locations within a few hours of the Pope’s arrival and departure is advisable.

Metro-North Railroad service

MTA Metro-North Railroad will have additional trains and crews stationed in Grand Central Terminal as well as strategic outlying locations to be dispatched as necessary to provide additional capacity.

Metro-North will run a normal schedule on Thursday, Sept. 24. On Friday, Sept. 25, the railroad will operate three additional inbound trains, leaving Poughkeepsie on the Hudson Line at 10:37 a.m.; leaving Southeast on the Harlem Line at 10:08 a.m.; and leaving Fairfield Metro on the New Haven Line at 11:00 a.m. Some earlier trains will be combined and canceled to provide crews and equipment for those trains; details on those service changes will be available at www.mta.info/mnr.

This city website promises to issue Pope-related transit alerts as they become available. We at Patch will also be updating this story with any info we can find on how to see (or avoid) Pope Francis on his way through.