Papal visits to the United States have been made by four popes between 1965 and 2015. There have been a total of 10 trips which included visits to 23 cities in 17 states and the District of Columbia. In addition, three cities in U.S. territories have received papal visits as well.

Precursor events Pope Pius IX

Pope Pius IX fled Rome and took refuge in the city of Gaeta in November 1848 due to the establishment of the Roman Republic. He remained in Gaeta until September 4, 1849. Pope Pius IX and King Ferdinand II of the Two Sicilies went onboard the USS Constitution while it was in port at Gaeta on August 1, 1849. As commissioned ships possess extraterritoriality, this was the first time a pope set foot on American territory or its equivalent.

Pope Pius XII

Eugenio Cardinal Pacelli (the soon-to-be Pope Pius XII) visited the United States from October 8 to November 6, 1936 as Cardinal Secretary of State and Camerlengo of the Holy Roman Church. At the time, Pacelli was the highest-ranking Catholic official ever to visit the United States.The New York Times. 1936, October 9. "Cardinal Pacelli, Papal Envoy, Here". p. 1. Although he did not visit the United States as Pope, he was the first Pope who visited the United States at any time in his life. Pacelli met with President Franklin D. Roosevelt at the president's home in Hyde Park, New York, on November 5, 1936.The New York Times. 1936, November 6. "Pacelli Lunches With Roosevelt". p. 1.

Pope Leo XIV Robert Francis Prevost, later known as Pope Leo XIV, was born in Chicago, Illinois, on September 14, 1955, and lived in the United States throughout his early years before beginning his missionary work in Peru in 1985. He thus spent time in the country before any reigning pope did.

Visits to the United States by reigning popes Pope Paul VI

The first papal visit to the United States itself occurred on October 4, 1965, when Pope Paul VI visited New York City to address the United Nations at the invitation of Secretary-General U Thant. During that visit, the Pope first stopped at St. Patrick's Cathedral where some 55,000 people lined the streets to greet him, met with President Lyndon B. Johnson at the Waldorf Astoria, addressed the United Nations General Assembly, celebrated Mass at Yankee Stadium, and viewed Michelangelo's Pieta at the New York World's Fair in Queens.

Pope John Paul II Pope John Paul II visited the United States from October 1 to 7, 1979. He arrived in Boston on October 1 after a visit to Ireland. The next two days were spent in New York City, where he addressed the United Nations General Assembly. The pope later spoke to students gathered at Madison Square Garden, and conducted Mass at the original Yankee Stadium for 75,000 people as well as at Shea Stadium to an audience of over 52,000. He arrived in Philadelphia on October 3. The pope traveled to Des Moines, Iowa, and visited the Living History Farms and said Mass to an audience of around 340,000 on October 4, 1979. He traveled to Chicago later that same day, there he celebrated Mass in Grant Park, met with civic leaders and Chicago's Polish community. Chicago was the largest Catholic archdiocese in the United States at the time and the home of the largest Polish community outside of Poland. He concluded his pilgrimage to the U.S. in Washington, D.C., where he became the first pope to visit the White House where he met with President Jimmy Carter.

John Paul II made two stopovers in Alaska. The first occurred in Anchorage on February 26, 1981 following a trip to Asia and the second was in Fairbanks on May 2, 1984, which included a meeting with President Ronald Reagan.

A large-scale visit was carried out from September 10 to 19, 1987. John Paul II first traveled to Miami, where he met with President Reagan at the Vizcaya Museum. A Mass at Tamiami Park was cut short before the pope could give Communion, due to a lightning storm that made it unsafe to continue. Meeting with local Jewish leaders at Miami's Center for the Fine Arts, John Paul II condemned antisemitism but did not apologize for a recent meeting with Austrian president and former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim, whose involvement in Nazi war crimes had been exposed months earlier."Pontiff, Jews clear the air; Mass cut short by rain, lightning", Miami Herald, September 12, 1987, front page.

The pope spent five hours in Columbia, South Carolina, meeting with Protestant leaders at Williams–Brice Stadium in an area with a very small Catholic population, and briefly greeting former president Jimmy Carter at the airport."Pope preaches harmony; Carter, pope have three-minute visit", The State, September 12, 1987, front page. In New Orleans, the pope condemned racism in a convocation at Xavier University of Louisiana, the nation's only historically black Catholic university. He held another outdoor Mass at New Orleans University, held a youth rally at the Superdome, and traveled in a motorcade down the city's famed Mardi Gras parade route."Pope's message one of forgiveness; New Orleans crowd behaves for pope", Sun Herald, September 13, 1987. The pope addressed immigration from Mexico and celebrated Sunday Mass in San Antonio, Texas, where a temporary altar built for the service collapsed days before and had to be quickly rebuilt.Associated Press. "Large crowd greets pope", San Angelo Standard-Times, September 14, 1987, front page and page 4A. At the Arizona Veterans Memorial Coliseum in Phoenix, John Paul II spoke to 16,000 Native American Catholics and defended the controversial decision to consider Junípero Serra, a Spanish missionary who helped to colonize California, for sainthood.Shaffer, Mark. "Pontiff warms Valley's heart", Arizona Republic, September 15, 1987, front page. In Los Angeles, the pope warned a gathering of entertainment industry leaders to use their immense influence responsibly,"Pope Is Greeted With Enthusiasm, Stresses Morality; Entertainment, Media Leaders' Power Cited", Los Angeles Times, September 16, 1987, front page. and he instructed a conference of 300 American bishops to strictly follow church doctrine even where it is unpopular with the laity, particularly regarding issues such as divorce, abortion, and homosexuality."Moral Issue Dissent a Grave Error, Pope Says: Catholics Can't Be Selective on Doctrine, He Tells Bishops; Pope Stern With Bishops and Tender With Children", Los Angeles Times, September 17, 1987, front page. John Paul II discussed agricultural labor issues and acknowledged the 200th anniversary of the signing of the U.S. Constitution while speaking at Laguna Seca Raceway in Monterey, California.Lollar, Kevin, and Jeannie Echenique. "Pope urges respect on farm: Pontiff shares concerns on ag with Seca crowd", Salinas Californian, September 17, 1987, front page. In San Francisco, the pope met with AIDS patients at the Mission Dolores Basilica, many of them gay men, and celebrated Mass at Candlestick Park."Pope embraces The City: Mass for 67,000 at Candlestick Park, Emotional meeting with AIDS patients; More voices ask for bigger role; AIDS patients: A touching of spirits", San Francisco Examiner, September 18, 1987, front page. The pope's final stop on this trip was in Detroit, where he greeted the Polish-American community in Hamtramck and celebrated the last Mass of the journey at the Pontiac Silverdome. Vice President George H. W. Bush met with the pope before his departure on September 19, 1987. During the 10-day visit to the United States, crowds were significantly less than during the 1979 tour, and extensive preparations to maintain order and divert traffic sometimes proved unnecessary."Pope reaches out to Detroit: Theories very on reasons for crowds that fell short; Triumphal Pontiac mass caps pontiff's U.S. tour", Detroit Free Press, September 20, 1987, front page.

The pope visited Denver from August 10 to 15, 1993 for World Youth Day 1993 and met President Bill Clinton at Regis University.

Another multi-city visit occurred October 4–9, 1995 when the pope traveled to Newark, East Rutherford, New York City, Yonkers, and Baltimore. This visit included an address to the United Nations on the 50th anniversary of its establishment and a Mass at Giants Stadium before a crowd of 82,948, the second-largest to ever attend an event at Giants Stadium.

John Paul II's final visit to the United States was to St. Louis, Missouri, on January 26–27, 1999, as a stop on his return from a trip to Mexico City. Conducting Mass at the Trans World Dome, the pope criticized the death penalty and urged clemency for Darrell Mease, a Missouri prisoner who had been scheduled for execution on January 27. Mease's execution was postponed and ultimately canceled by Missouri governor Mel Carnahan, who said that meeting with the pope had convinced him to commute the sentence."John Paul II leads faithful in worship: 'I will always remember St. Louis.'; Pope asks Carnahan to commute death sentence", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 28, 1999, front page."Carnahan spares murderer's life: Brief meeting with pope led governor to cancel execution", St. Louis Post-Dispatch, January 29, 1999, front page.

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the United States took place from April 15 to 20, 2008. It was his only visit to the United States.

Pope Francis

Pope Francis's visit to the United States consisted of three cities: Washington, D.C., New York City including his visit to the United Nations, and Philadelphia which hosted the World Meeting of Families. He became the first pope to address a joint session of the United States Congress, at the invitation of House Speaker John Boehner and Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, both Catholics.

Visits to territories of the United States Pope Paul VI visited Pago Pago, American Samoa, on November 30, 1970, as part of his tour of Asia and Oceania.

Pope John Paul II visited Agaña, Guam on February 22–23, 1981, and San Juan, Puerto Rico, on October 12, 1984.

Tables Table of destinations in the United States City State or district Pope and year of visitAnchorage Alaska 1981-02-26John Paul II 1981BaltimoreMaryland 1995-10-08John Paul II 1995BostonMassachusetts 1979-10-01John Paul II 1979ChicagoIllinoisColumbiaSouth Carolina 1987-09-11John Paul II 1987DenverColorado 1993-08-12John Paul II 1993Des MoinesIowa 1979-10-04 AMJohn Paul II 1979DetroitMichigan 1987-09-18John Paul II 1987East RutherfordNew Jersey 1995-10-05 PMJohn Paul II 1995FairbanksAlaska 1984-05-02John Paul II 1984Los AngelesCalifornia 1987-09-15John Paul II 1987MiamiFloridaMontereyCaliforniaNew OrleansLouisianaNew York CityNew York 1965-10-04Paul VI 1965 John Paul II 1979, 1995 Benedict XVI 2008 Francis 2015NewarkNew Jersey 1995-10-04John Paul II 1995PhiladelphiaPennsylvania 1979-10-03John Paul II 1979 Francis 2015PhoenixArizona 1987-09-14John Paul II 1987Missouri 1999-01-26John Paul II 1999San AntonioTexas 1987-09-13John Paul II 1987San FranciscoCaliforniaWashingtonDistrict of Columbia 1979-10-06John Paul II 1979 Benedict XVI 2008 Francis 2015YonkersNew York 1995-10-06John Paul II 1995 Benedict XVI 2008

Table of destinations in the territories of the United States

City Territory Pope and year of visitAgaña Guam 1981-02-22John Paul II 1981Pago Pago American Samoa 1970-11-30Paul VI 1970San Juan Puerto Rico 1984-10-12John Paul II 1984

See also Catholic Church in the United States History of the Catholic Church in the United States List of pastoral trips made by Pope Paul VI List of pastoral trips made by Pope John Paul II List of pastoral trips made by Pope Benedict XVI List of pastoral trips made by Pope Francis List of meetings between the pope and the president of the United States Papal travel

References