Several thousand people gathered on the west front of the U.S. Capitol early Thursday morning to watch Pope Francis’ address to Congress, and the chance to see the head of the Catholic Church wave to the masses.
Thousands filled up the space in front of the Capitol as early as 5 a.m., when police opened the gates to the public.
Even before dawn, the crowd was enthusiastic about the opportunity to hear Francis’ speech over jumbotrons and await his scheduled brief appearance on the balcony much later in the day, around 11 a.m.
“I’m just hoping to catch a glimpse of him,” said Andrew Bracken, a Washington, D.C.-area food security contractor.
While not a Catholic, Bracken arrived at the Capitol at 6:30 a.m. to see the pope, who he said is a “transformational figure” for all Christians.
Others in the crowd of school groups, religious orders, families and others had similarly open expectations for Pope Francis’ historic speech.
Haley Abergo, an eighth grader at Rosarian Academy in West Palm Beach, Fla., said that she was “just really excited to hear what he has to say.”
She and five classmates had won an essay contest at their school for tickets to the event through their congresswoman’s office, and woke up at 3:55 a.m. to get to the event after flying in the night before. They were scheduled to fly back to Florida on Saturday night.
Others hoped that Francis would elaborate on some of the prominent themes of his papacy, especially his focus on poverty, the conditions of immigrants, and care for the environment.
Suzi Spitzer, a Ph.D. student in environmental science at the University of Maryland, appreciated Francis’ public statements on addressing climate change, a topic the pope had raised in person with President Obama on Wednesday.
“I think he’s really good at talking to a broad audience,” Spitzer said.
Drew Webster, another Maryland grad student who had taken the subway with Spitzer in the morning, said that Francis’ message “really resonates with people.”
“I really admire what he’s doing for the church,” he said, citing Francis’ efforts to alleviate poverty.
Father Luis Guido, a priest in the diocese of San Bernardino in California, came to the Capitol Thursday morning after celebrating mass with Francis on Wednesday for the canonization of Junipero Serra.
Guido, who is also set to travel to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families that Francis will also attend, wanted Francis’ speech with the assembled members of the U.S. Congress to bring the lawmakers closer to the people.
“The relationship between people and leaders needs to be closer. The people most in need, the poor, immigrants, refugees, need to be closer,” he said.
Citing the “joy” around Francis’ visit, Guido said that he’d be “going back to California with a sense of unity, a lot of hope in people.”
