Papal and state visit by Pope Francis to Cuba and the United States in 2015
Pope Francis visited North America—Cuba and the United States—from 19 to 27 September 2015. It was his first state visit to both Cuba and the U.S., as well as the third official papal visit to Cuba and the seventh to the United States since the U.S. established full diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1984.
The published itinerary from the Vatican described the trip: "Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Cuba and the United States of America, and Visit to the United Nations Organization Headquarters, on the occasion of his participation at the Eighth World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia."
Visit.
Cuba.
The pope's visit began with a tour of Cuba – the third by a reigning Pope (after Pope John Paul II's 1998 visit, and the subsequent visit in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI) – where he visited Havana, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba.
United States.
The visit to the United States consisted of three cities: Washington, D.C., New York City (including his visit to the United Nations), and Philadelphia which hosted the World Meeting of Families. Tickets to attend public events with the pope were hard to obtain or sold out very quickly.
During his visit, it was announced that he would be releasing a rock album titled "Wake Up!" in November 2015.
23 September (Washington, D.C.).
Pope Francis met with Little Sisters of the Poor after Mass; a Vatican spokesman stated that this was a sign of his support for them in their opposition to a contraception mandate for Catholic hospitals.
24 September (Washington, D.C.; New York City).
In his speech to Congress and other dignitaries, he devoted most of the time discussing immigration, protection for persecuted religious groups including Christians, poverty, capital punishment, and climate change.
Kim Davis and her husband met briefly with Pope Francis at the Apostolic Nunciature in Washington (Embassy of the Holy See) with "several dozen" other people. The Vatican issued a statement saying the Pope's meeting with Davis "should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects." According to Father Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, Davis was not invited to the nunciature, and "the meeting may have been manipulated by her and her lawyer."
Commemorations.
Philadelphia breweries released nine special, papal-themed beers in anticipation of the visit. The Delaware County Keystone Mint crafted a coin commemorating the pope's visit to the United States and the World Meeting of Families. Two Philadelphia radio stations introduced "pop-up stations" dedicated to extended coverage of the visit and its associated events, including WZMP-HD3's "Popecast", and WDAS's "Pope Info Radio".
Swyft Media released a sticker keyboard app to commemorate the visit, Popemoji, which featured cartoon images of Pope Francis for use in messaging apps (including nods to U.S. landmarks and Philadelphia).
References.
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