Pope Francis travels to New York

(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis has wrapped up the first leg of his Apostolic Visit to the United States.

Aboard an American Airlines Flight from Washington on Thursday afternoon, the Pope travelled to New York City where he is scheduled to celebrate Vespers at St. Patrick’s Cathedral in Manhattan, address the United Nations General Assembly, pray at the Ground Zero Memorial, pay a visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem, and celebrate Mass at Madison Square Garden. 

He will leave New York on Saturday morning and journey to Philadelphia where, amongst other events, he will visit Independence Mall and meet with the Hispanic Community and participate in the World Meeting of Families where he will celebrate the closing Mass on Sunday.

Waiting to greet him on Thursday evening at the J.F Kennedy Airport in New York weree Cardinal Timothy Dolan, the Archbishop of New York; Archbishop Bernadito Auza, the Holy See Permanent Observer to the UN; Bishop Nicholas Di Marzio, Bishop of Brooklyn, as well as the Governor and the Mayor of New York City.

A helicopter immediately transfered Pope Francis to Downtown Manhattan where he is due to celebrate Vespers with the clergy and men and women religious in St. Patrick’s Cathedral, a landmark of Downtown Manhattan.

Every year, more than five million people of every different nationality and faith enter St Patrick’s Cathedral. As Cardinal Dolan points out on his Cathedral's webpage: “To many, St. Patrick's Cathedral is a spiritual haven. Parishioners, community members and travelers from around the globe find their way to this sacred home, which may truly be called the center of Catholic life in the United States. To countless others, St. Patrick's is an iconic New York City and national landmark”. 

The Cathedral website also tells us that it “mirrors the story of the city itself. Created to affirm the ascendance of religious freedom and tolerance, St. Patrick’s Cathedral was built in the democratic spirit, paid for not only by the contributions of thousands of poor immigrants but also by the largesse of 103 prominent citizens who pledged $1,000 each. St. Patrick’s Cathedral proves the maxim that no generation builds a cathedral. It is rather, a kind of ongoing conversation linking generations past, present and future”.