More than 11,000 people turned out to watch President Barack Obama welcome Pope Francis on the White House lawn Wednesday.
“The size and the spirit of today’s gathering is just a small reflection of the deep devotion of some 70 million American Catholics,” Obama said in his welcome address.
The pope also spoke, emphasizing the urgent need to address global climate change as “a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation.”
Thousands of supporters lined the streets of Washington as the pope traveled in his Popemobile along the National Mall.
Later, 25,000 gathered for a canonization mass to grant sainthood on Junipero Serra, a Spanish friar credited with bringing Catholicism to California in the 1700s. Fifty Native American tribes condemned the action, citing the human rights violations of Catholic missionaries, and Serra in particular.
At St. Matthew’s Cathedral in Northwest Washington, Pope Francis led a prayer service in which he acknowledged continuing efforts to overcome and heal from the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the Catholic Church in the U.S. in recent years.
On Thursday, the pope addressed a joint meeting of Congress about the need for bipartisan unity in addressing issues like poverty, immigration and climate change. He also stopped at St. Patrick’s Parish Church to meet with some of the city’s homeless before moving on to New York City and then Philadelphia.
Warm up questions
-
Who is Pope Francis?
-
What is a saint?
-
What must someone do to become a saint?
-
Why is Pope Francis visiting the U.S.?
Critical thinking questions
-
Why is it significant that the pope spoke in the U.S. about the need to address climate change?
-
Why would Junipero Serra’s conversion of Native Americans be viewed negatively?
-
As a religious leader, what does Pope Francis hope to accomplish by making political statements regarding climate change and poverty?
