Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States took place from April 15, 2008, to April 20, 2008. It was his only visit to the United States. It was officially titled the
Apostolic Visit to the United States of America and to the Seat of the United Nations
. It was the sixth official papal visit to the United States since the U.S. established full diplomatic relations with the

Holy See The Holy See (, ; ), also called the See of Rome, the Petrine See or the Apostolic See, is the central governing body of the Catholic Church and Vatican City. It encompasses the office of the pope as the Bishops in the Catholic Church, bishop ...

in 1984. In addition to his 1979 visit,

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II (born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 19202 April 2005) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 16 October 1978 until Death and funeral of Pope John Paul II, his death in 2005. In his you ...

visited the United States in 1987, 1993, 1995, and 1999.

Pope Francis Pope Francis (born Jorge Mario Bergoglio; 17 December 1936 – 21 April 2025) was head of the Catholic Church and sovereign of the Vatican City State from 13 March 2013 until Death and funeral of Pope Francis, his death in 2025. He was the fi ...

visited the United States in 2015. The Pope's visit included meetings with President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...

, an address to the

United Nations General Assembly The United Nations General Assembly (UNGA or GA; , AGNU or AG) is one of the six principal organs of the United Nations (UN), serving as its main deliberative, policymaking, and representative organ. Currently in its Seventy-ninth session of th ...

New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...

, a visit to Ground Zero, and Masses at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C., and Yankee Stadium in New York City, among other activities.

Preparation

The visit was announced on November 12, 2007 by Archbishop Pietro Sambi to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

Visit

April 15 (Washington)

The Pope arrived at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington on April 15, 2008, greeted by President Bush and cheering crowds. This was the first time any president had gone to the base to greet a foreign dignitary, as presidents customarily wait for visitors at the White House.

April 16 (Washington)

The Pope was formally received at the White House on April 16. Over 9,000 people gathered on the South Lawn of the White House, including thousands of members of the public who got free tickets in a lottery-type drawing, and another 4,000 without tickets to the ceremony lined the streets around the White House to see his motorcade. The crowd sang " Happy Birthday" to the Pope, who turned 81 years old that day. The Pope addressed the crowd in English, saying he had "great respect for this vast pluralistic society" and ended by saying "God bless America". In his speech, Bush said the visit was a reminder to Americans to "distinguish between simple right and wrong", saying, "We need your message to reject this dictatorship of relativism and embrace a culture of justice and truth." He told the Pope that in America, "you'll find a nation that welcomes the role of religion in the public square... a world where some evoke the name of God to justify acts of terror and murder and hate, we need your message that God is love. And embracing this love is the surest way to save man from falling prey to the teaching of fanaticism and terrorism." After the ceremony, Bush and the Pope met in the Oval Office, where Bush presented him with a birthday cake. During their private meeting in the Oval Office, the Pope expressed his concerns to Bush about the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

and illegal immigration in the country. Afterwards, the Pope went to the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where he addressed American bishops. Bush hosted a state dinner at the White House later that evening for visiting cardinals, bishops and various dignitaries.

April 17 (Washington)

The Pope celebrated

Mass Mass is an Intrinsic and extrinsic properties, intrinsic property of a physical body, body. It was traditionally believed to be related to the physical quantity, quantity of matter in a body, until the discovery of the atom and particle physi ...

at the newly built Nationals Park in Washington, home to the Washington Nationals

Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

team. 46,000 people attended the Mass at the stadium, which has an official seating capacity of about 41,000. 200,000 requests for tickets, which were free, had been submitted prior to the mass.Elsibai, Nadin
"Pope Benedict Says Mass Before 47,000 in New Washington Stadium"

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

April 17, 2008 Retrieved August 17, 2011 Those in attendance included 14 cardinals, 250 bishops, and 1,300 priests. The altar was set up in the outfield and live video of the Mass was shown on the scoreboard. In his homily, the Pope urged American Catholics to "foster healing and reconciliation" in the wake of the child sex abuse scandal. After the Mass, he went to the Catholic University of America to address representatives from American Catholic universities, diocesan schools, and others about the role of the Church in education. After that, he went to the university's Pope John Paul II Cultural Center to meet privately with about 200 representatives of

Judaism Judaism () is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic, Monotheism, monotheistic, ethnic religion that comprises the collective spiritual, cultural, and legal traditions of the Jews, Jewish people. Religious Jews regard Judaism as their means of o ...

Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

Buddhism Buddhism, also known as Buddhadharma and Dharmavinaya, is an Indian religion and List of philosophies, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha, a wandering teacher who lived in the 6th or ...

, and

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

to promote interfaith dialogue.

April 18 (New York)

The Pope addressed the

at the UN Headquarters in New York. He praised the UN as a defender of

human rights Human rights are universally recognized Morality, moral principles or Social norm, norms that establish standards of human behavior and are often protected by both Municipal law, national and international laws. These rights are considered ...

, but cautioned that it must be acknowledged that human rights come from God. He made a historic visit to a Jewish synagogue in New York, the first visit by any Pope to a Jewish place of worship in America. The visit fell on the eve of Passover. He said he found it "moving to recall that Jesus as a young boy heard the words of Scripture and prayed in a place such as this."

April 19 (New York)

The Pope visited St. Patrick's Cathedral, where he celebrated Mass. In his homily, he spoke of the child sex abuse scandal and called for healing. He met with disabled children and their families then led a youth rally of over 20,000 teenagers and young adults at St. Joseph's Seminary in

Yonkers, New York Yonkers () is the List of municipalities in New York, third-most populous city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York and the most-populous City (New York), city in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County. A centrally locate ...

April 20 (New York)

The Pope visited Ground Zero, the site of the World Trade Center towers which were destroyed in the September 11, 2001 attacks. He prayed for the victims of the 9/11 attacks and met with a small group of relatives of the victims as well as a handful of first responders and survivors. He blessed the site, lit a candle, and gave a prayer for the dead. He prayed for "eternal light and peace" for those killed and for healing for their families. The Pope said Mass to a crowd of nearly 60,000 at Yankee Stadium, home of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Am ...

. Over 200,000 had requested tickets, which were free, for the event. The ''

New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' said the crowd "roared with all the sustained excitement of spectators at a pennant-clinching game." The altar was set up on second base. In his homily, he said the unwavering truth of the Catholic Church's message guarantees respect for the dignity of all human life, "including the most defenseless of all human beings, the unborn child in the mother's womb." The Mass marked the third time a Pope had visited the stadium, a record for any venue in the United States. ( Pope Paul VI celebrated Mass at the stadium in 1965, and

celebrated Mass there in 1979.Hoch, Brya
"Yankee Stadium set to host Pope"
MLB.com April 17, 2008 Retrieved August 17, 2011) MLB changed the Yankees schedule to accommodate the Mass, resulting in the Yankees playing 18 of their 20 games in April on the road, the most in one month in MLB history. Vice President

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

hosted a farewell ceremony for the Pope at John F. Kennedy International Airport attended by 3,000 people. After a final speech, he boarded a specially chartered Alitalia plane with the callsign "Shepherd One" and touched down at

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

's Ciampino International Airport at 10:40 AM local time."Pope arrives home from US trip"
Google News April 20, 2008 Retrieved August 17, 2011

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States 2008 in the United States 2008 in New York (state) 2008 in New York City 2008 in Washington, D.C. 2008 in Christianity April 2008 in the United States Diplomatic visits by heads of state Diplomatic visits to the United States Benedict XVI, United States History of Catholicism in the United States Holy See–United States relations Pope Benedict XVI Presidency of George W. Bush