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Reports are coming out of Vatican circles indicating Pope Francis will be coming to the U.S. sometime next year.
John Allen of the National Catholic Reporter has indicated that Latin America’s first pope may be coming to Philadelphia in September of 2015 to attend the 8th World Meeting of Families.
The World Meeting of Families is an initiative started by Pope John Paul dedicated to strengthening the Catholic family. The four-day gathering attracts a global audience, with an estimated one million Catholics attending the final Mass. The gathering is held in different parts of the world every three years. The 2015 gathering is slated from September 22-27, 2015.
Other sources indicate the trip is under consideration but no definite plans by the Vatican have been made. This would be the first time El Papa, as he is lovingly known in Spanish, would visit North America. Pope Francis’ first international trip was to Brazil where he drew huge crowds, this past July.
The National Catholic Reporter indicates the Vatican is worried about the Pope’s poor command of the English language as a reason they are not finalizing the trip to the U.S. Spanish is his native tongue but the Pope can also speak Italian and French fluently.
President Obama, meanwhile, is not waiting for the Pontiff to visit here he is going to the Vatican to meet with him. The President will be visiting the Pontiff on March 27 and the two world leaders plan on discussing poverty and world peace.
Published in Latino Daily News