The Republicans may not like him, but Pope Francis isn’t letting that slow him down. He kicked off his six-day tour of Washington, D.C., New York, and Philadelphia yesterday in the Capitol, and was met with massive crowds of adoring and curious people. While he was at the White House, he gave a speech about climate control, poverty, and immigration, getting surprisingly political for a papal address on foreign soil.
However, while he was at the White House, the Pope took some time out of his busy schedule to hang out with President Obama’s dogs, Bo and Sunny.
Pope Francis meets Bo and Sunny. pic.twitter.com/s0wZzdWyc0
— petesouza (@petesouza) September 23, 2015
Honestly, this makes total sense. If you were in a high-stress, highly-scrutinized situation, wouldn’t you take some time out of your day to pet some adorable dogs? Uh, yeah. You would.
During the papal parade, a little girl tried to break through the barrier to deliver a note to the Pope himself, but was detained by security. Luckily, Pope Francis noticed her plight and waved her over for a hug and a chance to give him her letter in person. It’s always heartwarming to see a figure of authority take the time to practice what he preaches and care for those who aren’t in his same position of power.
The little girl, Sophie Cruz, is 5 years old and is the daughter of an immigration activist. Her letter was a passionate plea for immigration reform, a cause near and dear to the Pope, himself the son of immigrants.
Sophia is lucky she made it through the crowds at all. There were thousands in attendance for all of the Pope’s events, from the parade to the mass that he held at St. Matthew’s, which included the canonization (the first done on American soil) of Spanish missionary Junipero Serra. I mean, some nuns were so set on getting a spot at mass that they tailgated prior to the service.
Nuns tailgating at Catholic U ahead of Pope Francis Mass pic.twitter.com/DKLwTQngaB — Luke Russert (@LukeRussert) September 23, 2015
Many of the nuns at the mass were overwhelmed by his presence and tried to grab him before they were stopped by security guards.
So far, Pope Francis’s trip has been good for his image. Today, he addressed Congress in a historic event today, and ditched lunch with political heavyweights like John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi to instead eat with the city’s homeless. Let’s face it, he’s a religious rock star, and maybe he can actually inspire some progress in the political and religious minds of America.
