Pope Francis Arrives In U.S.
WASHINGTON D.C. (CBS) -- Pope Francis arrived in the U.S. to cheers as he kicked off his historic trip.
This is his first-ever visit to our country and Washington D.C. is the first stop of the pope's trip.
CBS 2 Chief Correspondent Jay Levine has more on what the pope is doing in the nation's capital.
Levine reports Pope Francis Right is resting after a busy and emotional final day in Cuba, a short but highly symbolic flight between two nations he helped bring back together.
Removing his zuchetto, or skull cap, Pope Francis walked slowly down the stairs of the plane, greeted on the tarmac by president Obama, his wife, daughter and others.
With the crowd chanting Francisco Francisco, and President Obama literally beaming alongside he went through the receiving line consisting of a select group of church and political leaders, before getting to four Catholic elementary school children from the Washington D.C. area.
The pope and president slowly made their way toward an airport terminal, a translator walking between and behind them, for a private meeting between the pope and First Family. While the pope will deliver a number of talks and homilies in English, he is not fully fluent, preferring to speak his native Spanish, so a translator will always be nearby.
Emerging moments later with the crowd cheering nearby, he left the airport in a modest, to say the least, Italian made Fiat, with the license plate VC or Vatican City, his hand waving from an open window.
While the airport greeting appeared pretty standard, the rest of his visit will be anything but, with even Washington's most influential politicians told not to expect a special meeting.
"It's going to be different, and it is and that's what makes him different," said Senator Dick Durbin. "He doesn't want to sit around with the stuffed shirts in the capital with the Democratic and Republican leaders."
The pope is staying in the Papal Nuncio's residence in the nation's capital.
At Loyola University in Chicago, bells rang at the chapel as Pope Francis, their spiritual leader and fellow Jesuit, arrived. Organizers called it a national demonstration of faith.
