Pope Francis will visit the White House and address a joint session of Congress in September.
The Pope will arrive in the U.S on Sept. 22 and leave Sept. 27, according to Archbishop Bernardito Auza.
After his White House visit on the morning of Sept. 23, Pope Francis will celebrate Mass at The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
“And we might say really the highlight of the Washington visit might be his speech to the joint-meeting of Congress, so the Senate and the House of Representatives,” Archbishop Auza told the Catholic News Agency on Sunday from the Philippines.
Pope Francis will then leave for New York City on the afternoon of Sept. 24, according to the proposed travel schedule.
Once in New York City, Pope Francis will visit the U.N. General Assembly on the morning of Sept. 25 to give a papal address, which is also the opening day of the Post-2015 Sustainable Development Summit.
“Of course the Pope will visit St. Patrick’s (Cathedral). That’s for sure,” Archbishop Auza said.
A location for where the Pope will have a Mass is still up in the air, though Madison Square Garden is a strong possibility. Pope Francis may also visit Ground Zero, Archbishop Auza said.
Pope Francis is also planning to have an “interethnic meeting,” according to Archbishop Auza, something he called the most “unique ingredient” of his proposed schedule in New York.
His last stop in the U.S. will be Philadelphia, from Sept. 26-27, where he plans to participate in the World Meeting of Families.
A possible visit to Mexico after the U.S. is still to be determined.
Archbishop Auza is a member of Pope Francis’ organizing committee along with numerous other Catholic leaders, such as Apostolic Nuncio to the United States Archbishop Carlo Maria Vigano, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York, and Msgr. Ronny Jenkins, secretary-general at the bishops’ conference.
