Pope Francis arrives in Washington DC on Tuesday after completing a tour of Cuba. He will visit New York and Philadelphia during his six-day tour of the US and meet the public besides engaging in several important meetings and attending religious activities.
The 78-year-old leader of over 1.2 billion Catholics visits the US when the country is gripped by several issues, including the immigration problem. Many will keep a watch on every move and word of the outspoken Pope.
A tight schedule awaits the Pope. Here are the five most important engagements of Pope Francis:
1) 9:20am, Thursday, 24 September (Address to Congress): Pope Francis will become the first head of the Catholic Church to address a joint session of the Congress. He may talk on several issues, including climate change and immigration problem. Many Republicans have earlier expressed their disagreement with the views of the Pope on several occasions, so it will be interesting to know the proceedings of their meeting.
- Address to the joint session of Congress will be live streamed at Speaker website
2) 11:30am, Wednesday, 23 September (Canonization of Junipero Serra): The Pope will celebrate canonization mass of Junipero Serra at Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington DC. He had called Serra as "the evangelizer of the Western United States" while critics claimed that he destroyed native Americans' culture and traditions.
3) 8:30am, Friday, 25 September (Address to UN): Pope will address the United Nations General Assembly and interact with UN staff. He is expected to speak on several global issues, especially pledge of the refugees who have fled the war-torn Middle East.
- Address to UN will be live streamed at UNWEB TV
4) 11:30am, Friday, 25 September (Multi-religious service): Pope will lead a multi-religious service at 9/11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Center, 14 years after the twin towers were brought down by terrorists.
5) 11am, Sunday, 27 September (Philadelphia's prison): He will visit Philadelphia's largest prison Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility and meet the inmates, families and prison staff.
Read Pope's complete schedule and live streaming information of his 6-day tour of the USA.
