More details of Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to New York City emerged Thursday as Cardinal Timothy Dolan said the Pontiff may be visiting educational and charitable ministries of the Archdiocese of New York.
"You gotta ask the Vatican," the cardinal said when asked about details of the expected visit in September.
The cardinal, who spoke briefly with Aleteia as he arrived to address a Manhattan gathering on persecution of Christians in the Middle, said he didn’t think the Pope would celebrate a large outdoor Mass in New York’s Central Park, as Pope St. John Paul II did in 1995.
"I don’t think that, but for St. Patrick’s (Cathedral), please God," the cardinal said. "I think he’ll visit one of our works with immigrants and Catholic Charities and schools."
"Stay tuned," the cardinal added, as he proceeded to greet other guests at a conference sponsored by the Hudson Institute, "The Islamic State’s Religious Cleansing and the Urgency of a Strategic Response."
Various media have already reported on other details of Pope Francis’ first visit to the United States. The Pope is expected to travel to Cuba before his three-city tour of the U.S. Sept. 22-27.
He is expected to arrive in Washington, D.C. on the evening of Sept. 22 and visit the White House the following morning, where the official welcoming ceremony would take place. He would go on to celebrate Mass at Washington’s Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, where he will canonize Blessed Junipero Serra. Then he will address a joint meeting of Congress.
He would leave for New York City on the afternoon of the 24th and address the U.N. general-assembly on the morning of the 25th. This coincides with the opening of the three-day Post-2015 Sustainable Development Summit.
Early on the 26th, the Pontiff would head to Philadelphia, where he is set to participate in the World Meeting of Families. There, he is expected to participate in a prayer vigil on the 26th and celebrate Mass on Sunday, the 27th.
And today we celebrate...