Pope Francis To Visit Washington, New York and Philadelphia; Aretha Franklin And Andrea Bocelli Among Stars To Perform At The Papal Event
Pope Francis is set to visit the U.S. for the first time for a six-day Papal event in the states of Washington, New York and Philadelphia which will run from Sept. 22 to 27.
The Washington Post noted on Monday the archdioceses of New York and Philadelphia have announced a star-studded lineup of performers for Pope Francis' two big Papal events later this September.
According to the Papal event schedule released by Market Watch on Tuesday, Pope Francis will arrive on Sept. 22 in Maryland and will visit President Barrack Obama at the White House on Sept. 23. He will then attend meetings and assemblies, and preside masses in the following days until he departs for Rome on the Sept. 27 from Philadelphia's Atlantic Aviation.
Among the stars scheduled to perform at the New York Papal event on Sept. 25 are Gloria Estefan, Harry Connick, Jr. and Jennifer Hudson. The event will take place on the afternoon before Pope Francis hosts Mass at Madison Square Garden.
As for the Philadelphia leg of the visit, the Festival of Families will be held at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and hosted by Mark Wahlberg. Aretha Franklin and The Fray are slated perform at the said festival while Jim Gaffigan performs a pre-show at the parkway prior to the event proper.
Andrea Bocelli, Juanes and the Philadelphia Orchestra are also included in the lineup of performers at the Festival for Pope Francis.
The program is aptly titled "A Journey in Faith". Prayers are expected to take part in the festivities.
New York Daily reported on Monday that tickets for the Mass have been distributed by the archdiocese's parishes. Attendees are encouraged to arrive early since security during the festivities is expected to be very strict.
Pope Francis' visit to the U.S. will be the tenth time a pope has visited the country with Pope Paul VI being the first to visit the country on October 1965. Pope John Paul II reportedly visited seven times, followed by Pope Benedict XVI.
