Ecco Papa – At Long Last, Pope's US Dance Card Revealed

After a notably longer wait than usual, this morning the full schedule for the Pope's late September swing through the Northeast was unveiled by the Holy See and the USCCB with some 90 days to spare before the journey takes place.

For the Vatican, the 22-27 September Stateside trek is the second leg of a tour that'll first see Francis spend four days in Cuba. In any case, now comes the chaotic part – the coordination of ticketing and invitations amid heated demand and a frightful level of security, not to mention the credentialing for a global media contingent tipped to number close to 10,000 on its own between the stops in Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

On the all-important messaging front, while the inclusion of powerfully personal encounters – an interfaith prayer service at Ground Zero alongside visits to a Philadelphia prison, immigrant families in East Harlem and the homeless served by Washington's Catholic Charities – will all make for evocative visuals, given the Pope's lack of facility in English (which he's long termed his "toughest language" to master), the overwhelming bulk of the 16 major homilies and addresses Francis is slated to give are expected to be delivered in Spanish with a translator at his side, both for ease of understanding and, indeed, to allow him to veer off-the-cuff.

Here, via the Mothership, the complete US itinerary:

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 22

• 4:00 p.m. Arrival from Cuba at Joint Base Andrews

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 23 (WASHINGTON, DC)

• 9:15 a.m. Meeting with President Obama at the White House
• 11:30 a.m. Midday Prayer with the bishops of the United States, St. Matthew's Cathedral
• 4:15 p.m. Mass of Canonization of Junipero Serra, Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception [Ed. Note: East Portico of Shrine – outdoor liturgy]

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 24 (WASHINGTON, DC, NEW YORK CITY)

• 9:20 a.m. Address to Joint Session of the United States Congress 
• 11:15 a.m. Visit to St. Patrick in the City and Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of Washington
• 4:00 p.m. Depart from Joint Base Andrews
• 5:00 p.m. Arrival at John F. Kennedy International Airport
• 6:45 p.m. Evening Prayer (Vespers) at St. Patrick's Cathedral 

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 25 (NEW YORK CITY)

• 8:30 a.m. Visit to the United Nations and Address to the United Nations General Assembly
• 11:30 a.m. Multi-religious service at 9/11 Memorial and Museum, World Trade Center 
• 4:00 p.m. Visit to Our Lady Queen of Angels School, East Harlem
• 6:00 p.m. Mass at Madison Square Garden

SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 26 (NEW YORK CITY, PHILADELPHIA)

• 8:40 a.m. Departure from John F. Kennedy International Airport
• 9:30 a.m. Arrival at Atlantic Aviation, Philadelphia 
• 10:30 a.m. Mass at Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, Philadelphia 
• 4:45 p.m. Visit to Independence Mall
• 7:30 p.m. Visit to the Festival of Families Benjamin Franklin Parkway

SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 27 (PHILADELPHIA)

• 9:15 a.m. Meeting with bishops at at St. Martin's Chapel, St. Charles Borromeo Seminary 
• 11:00 a.m. Visit to Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility 
• 4:00 p.m. Mass for the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families, Benjamin Franklin Parkway 
• 7:00 p.m. Visit with organizers, volunteers and benefactors of the World Meeting of Families, Atlantic Aviation 
• 8:00 p.m. Departure for Rome

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