Pope Francis officially arrived in the U.S. for the first time on Tuesday, stepping off the plane to greet a massive crowd. As soon as he was safely on soil at Andrews Air Force Base, he was immediately greeted by President Obama and his family and Vice President Biden and his family. But even if their brief interactions had been recorded by a microphone, you probably couldn’t have heard them over the roar of the crowd.
Yes, that’s correct: Pope Francis also his own throng of screaming adoring fangirls. We could expect no less from a pope who has taken increasingly humanitarian and progressive views on such important issues as climate change, the LGBTQ community, divorce and even immigration (which at the moment, thanks to the media’s obsession with GOP frontrunner Donald Trump, has been a hot button topic in the news). He’s become one of the most beloved popes we’ve had in quite some time, thanks to what people see as his personable and humble nature, and his appeal to both Catholics and non-Catholics alike.
(Skip forward to 21 minutes to hear the Pope’s remarks.)
In his address in front of the White House, Francis took firm stance on combatting climate change, praising President Obama’s current efforts.
“Mr. President,” Francis said, “I find it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution.”
“To use a telling phrase of the Rev. Martin Luther King,” he added, “We can say that we have defaulted on a promissory note, and now is the time to honor it.”
In another address he made to some 300 bishops at the Cathedral of St. Matthew the Apostle, he also spoke on immigration and the recent church sex abuse scandals.
He also made waves during his visit to the Catholic University of America by canonizing Junípero Serra, an 18-century missionary who founded many missions in California. This was the first ceremony of its kind to take place on U.S. soil.
All in all, it’s been quite an eventful trip so far for Pope Francis. This morning, he even became the first pope to address a joint session of Congress! We can’t wait to see how his visits to New York and Philadelphia go the rest of this week.