Newt and Calista Gingrich will be among a small group of guests House Speaker John Boehner has invited to sit in the viewing gallery during Pope Francis’ address to Congress on Thursday.
Gingrich, who is one of Boehner’s GOP predecessor’s, converted to Catholicism in 2009, and will sit with Boehner in the Speaker’s box in the gallery, which is located above the House chamber.
Aside from Gingrich, Boehner has also invited childhood friend Jerry Vanden Eyden, who attended Catholic school with Boehner, and the mother of Paula Nowakowski, who was his longtime chief of staff until she died suddenly in 2010.
According to Boehner, Nowakowski “counted Pope John Paul II among her heroes.”
Boehner has invited 10 D.C. Catholic school students to see the pope from the West Terrace of the Capitol, where the pontiff will make a brief appearance before an expected crowd of thousands. Boehner’s West Front guests also include 50 constituents from Ohio’s 8th District, which he represents.
Boehner said he has distributed 50,000 West Lawn tickets to the public to see the Pope.
