Pope Francis has confirmed he will be visiting the United States in September 2015 for the World Meeting of Families.
He made the announcement as he opened an inter-religious conference that was held at the Vatican over the weekend.
His reason for visiting the United States is primarily to attend the World Meeting of Families, which is going to be held in Philadelphia next September. It has also been suggested that Pope Francis will stop in New York, but only the Philadelphia leg of his journey has been confirmed by the Vatican. This will be Pope Francis’ first ever papal visit to the United States of America.
Pope Francis is seen by many as a breath of fresh air into the Catholic Church. It is certainly true that he has managed to bring many people back into the fold, and he has continued to work on reaching out to those who have not normally had a relationship with the Catholic Church, such as single parents.
Moreover, Pope Francis has expanded the Catholic Church’s social media presence with his Twitter account and has engaged with young people often bored with the Catholic Church by taking “selfies” with them. He has encouraged Catholics to engage in social media to help spread the Gospel.
Many people are very excited at the thought that the Pope will be coming to visit. The U.S. trip will come at a very interesting time for the Vatican and the Catholic Church. Just weeks after Pope Francis will attend the World Meeting of Families and have discussions with many world and religious leaders about the place and nature of the family, the Catholic Church will finalize decisions on the official stance of the Catholic Church on issues such as homosexuality and the receiving of communion by those who have been divorced.