Scottish Catholic Observer

The Holy Father is to travel to North American next September in his first trip to the United States as Pope.

Archbishop Charles Chaput of Philadelphia said yesterday that Pope Francis had accepted his invitation to attend the World Meeting of Families in the his city next year.

Archbishop Chaput (above with Pope Francis) made the announcement before giving his homily during the opening Mass of the Tekakwitha Conference in Fargo.

“Pope Francis has told me that he is coming,” the archbishop said as he invited his fellow Native Americans to the 2015 celebration being held in Philadelphia September 22-27.

“The Pope will be with us the Friday, Saturday and Sunday of that week,” he said.

Fr Federico Lombardi, Vatican spokesman, said today that Pope Francis has expressed ‘his willingness to participate in the World Meeting of Families’ in Philadelphia, and has received invitations to visit other cities as well, which he is considering. Those invitations include New York, the United Nations and Washington.

Some Mexican media have cited government officials saying a September trip to North America also could include stops in Mexico, but Fr Lombardi said that at this moment ‘nothing operational has begun relative to a plan or programme for a visit to the United States or Mexico. Keep in mind, there is still more than a year to go before the meeting in Philadelphia.’

The World Meeting of Families next year follows the first of a two-part Extraordinary Synod of Bishops on the Family, which will be held at the Vatican from October 5-19 this year. The World Meeting of Families will be followed in October 2015 with a General Synod on the Family, which will involve an even wider group of bishops than usual.

The last Synod of Bishops meeting on the family held in 1980 and resulted in the document Familiaris Consortio.

—[email protected]