Pope Francis was the fourth pope to visit the theUnited States. His apostolic journey to the United States took place from September 22-27, 2015, and he visited Washington, New York and Philadelphia. Pope Francis' visit was the tenth time a pope made an apostolic journey to the United States.
Other pastoral visits from previous popes are:
Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States in 2008. His apostolic visit, April 15-20, took him to Washington and New York.
Pope John Paul II visited the United States seven times:
- 1979 (10/1 – 10/7) Boston, New York, Philadelphia, Chicago, Washington and Des Moines, Iowa.
- 1981 (2/27) Anchorage, Alaska – stopover/several hours
- 1984 (5/2) Fairbanks, Alaska – stopover/several hours
- 1987 (9/10 – 9/19) Miami, Columbia, SC, New Orleans, San Antonio, Phoenix, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Detroit
- 1993 (8/12 – 8/15) Denver (World Youth Day)
- 1995 (10/4 – 10/8) Newark, NJ, New York (including Brooklyn), Baltimore
- 1999 (1/26 – 1/27) St. Louis
In October 1965, Paul VI became the first pope to visit the United States. His trip included a first time papal visit to the United Nations.
Pope Francis was the fourth pope to meet with a U.S. president during a visit to the United States. Other popes who have met with a U.S. president during a U.S. visit are:
Pope Benedict XVI:
- April 16, 2008, on the occasion of Pope Benedict XVI's 81st birthday, President George W. Bush welcomed Pope Benedict to the White House. This was the second time in history that a pope visited the White House.
Pope John Paul II met with a U.S. president during each of the following visits to the United States:
- 1979 – President Jimmy Carter (The White House, Washington)
- 1984 – President Ronald Reagan (Fairbanks, Alaska: first time a U.S. president and pope met outside of the White House or Vatican)
- 1987 – President Ronald Reagan (Los Angeles)
- 1993 – President Bill Clinton(Denver)
- 1995 – President Bill Clinton (Newark, NJ)
- 1999 – President Bill Clinton (St. Louis)
Pope Paul VI:
- 1965 -- President Lyndon Johnson (New York City)
Pope Francis' visit to the United Nations was the fourth time a pope addresses the United Nations while visiting the United States.
Pope Francis
- United Nations Headquarters (New York),September 25, 2015
Benedict XVI
John Paul II
- United Nations Headquarters (New York), October 2, 1979
- United Nations Headquarters (New York), October 5, 1995
Pope Paul VI
- United Nations Headquarters (New York), October 4, 1965
*Sources: www.usccb.org, Vatican.va