The 30 hours or so Pope Francis will spend in New York in September will be relatively brief, but “his presence will have a profound and lasting impact on all New Yorkers”, said Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
“As Catholics, we rejoice in knowing that our Holy Father is coming to visit us, and we eagerly look forward to showing him how our faith is being put into action in this community,” the New York cardinal said in a statement on Tuesday.
His comments followed the early morning release by the Vatican on Tuesday of the detailed schedule of Pope Francis’s on September 19-22 visit to Cuba and his September 22-27 visit to the United States.
“As New Yorkers, we know that we can offer an example to the entire world of how people of different faiths can not only live together in peace and harmony, but also come together in a spirit of mutual co-operation and respect for one another,” Cardinal Dolan said.
Pope Francis is scheduled to depart Washington at 4pm (local time) on September 24 and arrive at New York’s John F Kennedy International Airport an hour later. That evening he will celebrate vespers with priests and men and women religious in St Patrick’s Cathedral and deliver the homily.
Early in the morning on September 25, the Pontiff visit the headquarters of the United Nations to greet officials and give a speech. Mid-morning he will participate in an inter-religious meeting at the ground zero 9/11 Memorial and give a speech there. The rest of his itinerary includes a visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels Catholic Elementary School in East Harlem and a meeting with children and immigrant families. That evening he will celebrate Mass. Early on September 26 he will depart for Philadelphia.
“We look forward to having the opportunity to join with Pope Francis in prayer, as we praise God for the many gifts he has given us, and ask for the Lord’s grace and wisdom in helping us continue to reach out in love and mercy to those less fortunate than us,” said Cardinal Dolan in his statement.
During his time in Washington Pope Francis will make history when he becomes the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress and says the first canonisation Mass to be celebrated in the United States.
Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl outlined details of the Pope’s September 22-24 visit to the nation’s capital at a news conference at the Cathedral of St Matthew the Apostle in Washington on Tuesday.
St Matthew Cathedral also is on the Pope’s US itinerary, as is a visit to an outreach programme operated by Catholic Charities, where he will meet clients served by the agency.
“The Holy Father is visiting our home, he is coming to visit us,” Cardinal Wuerl said, adding that the Pope will be visiting “not as a politician, but as a pastor.”
The theme of the papal visit to the Archdiocese of Washington is “Share the Joy, Walk With Francis.” I
Noting the pontiff’s “immense popularity,” Cardinal Wuerl called the Washington visit “an exciting time for this archdiocese, the Church in the United States and this city.”
He said that the “excitement and desire to see the Holy Father” from even among non-Catholics, is because Francis “speaks in an inviting way to us to add a spiritual dimension to our lives, and to have a relationship with God.”
Areas of Catholic Herald business are still recovering post-pandemic.
However, we are reaching out to the Catholic community and readership, that has been so loyal to the Catholic Herald. Please join us on our 135 year mission by supporting us.
We are raising £250,000 to safeguard the Herald as a world-leading voice in Catholic journalism and teaching.
We have been a bold and influential voice in the church since 1888, standing up for traditional Catholic culture and values. Please consider donating.