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Pope Francis Arrives in New York After Touring Washington Pope Arrives in New York After a Call to Action in Washington
(35 minutes later)
Pope Francis arrived in New York City on Thursday, his plane touching down at Kennedy International Airport shortly after 5 p.m. as he began the second leg of his tour of the United States. In his first visit to New York City, the center of global finance and capitalism, Pope Francis used his remarks on Thursday evening to warn the hundreds of clergy members, brothers and nuns gathered in St. Patrick’s Cathedral to live humbly and resist the temptation to treat their ministries as businesses, with success measured strictly by the bottom line.
After walking off the plane, he greeted several schoolchildren, who presented him with a book of prayers written by students. He chatted amiably, giving each child a pat on the head and greeting others gathered on the tarmac. He laughed when he was handed a bobblehead version of himself before boarding a helicopter and heading to Manhattan. “We can get caught up measuring the value of our apostolic works by the standards of efficiency, good management and outward success which govern the business world,” he told them in Spanish. Similarly, he said, they should guard against surrounding themselves with worldly comforts, as that can separate them from the poor they are intended to serve.
Speaking earlier before the nation’s leaders in Washington, the pope issued a call for action, urging lawmakers to combat the dangers posed by climate change, show compassion for immigrants and refugees, and work toward peace in a world too often riven by war and conflict. “Rest is needed, as are moments of leisure and self-enrichment, but we need to learn how to rest in a way that deepens our desire to serve with generosity,” he said.
In New York, Francis will extend his message to leaders from around the world on Friday morning when he addresses some 170 of them at a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly. They were pointed, if fatherly, remarks that echoed the themes he has stressed in his papacy but ones that resonated all the more in a newly renovated cathedral surrounded by the luxurious shops of Fifth Avenue.
During his brief but busy stay, the pope will combine policy speeches and prayer, public spectacle and private outreach. Even before the arrival of the papal plane, christened Shepherd One, the city has been gripped by a sense of anticipation rarely seen in a town not easily fazed by celebrity. Francis arrived in the city on Thursday, his plane touching down at Kennedy International Airport shortly after 5 p.m. to start the second leg of his six-day visit to the United States.
At St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, where Pope Francis was to deliver remarks at an evening prayer vigil, the excitement was palpable hours before his arrival. Starting at 3 p.m., the pews in the newly restored white marble sanctuary began to fill with nearly 2,500 priests, nuns and lay people, many with stories of how they had come to be there. Several schoolchildren greeted the pontiff as he walked off the plane. He chatted amiably, giving each child a pat on the head. He laughed when he was handed a bobblehead version of himself before taking a short helicopter ride to Manhattan, where the streets were lined with adoring crowds.
Francis changed cars from his modest Fiat to the widely recognized popemobile for a slow drive down Fifth Avenue. Dressed in his white vestments, the pope smiled widely and waved as people scrambled to capture the moment on their smartphones, chanting in Spanish “Francisco, Francisco.”
He was greeted at the cathedral by Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo and Mayor Bill de Blasio, who seemed to enjoy an unusual moment of bonhomie as they waited for Francis, as well as Senator Chuck Schumer.
Speaking earlier before the nation’s leaders in Washington, the pope urged lawmakers to combat the dangers posed by climate change, show compassion for immigrants and refugees, and work toward peace in a world too often divided by war and conflict.
In New York, Francis will extend his message to leaders from around the world on Friday morning when he addresses a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly.
During his brief but busy stay in the city, the pope will combine policy speeches and prayer, public spectacle and private outreach. Even before the arrival of the papal plane, the city has been gripped by a sense of anticipation rarely seen in a town not easily fazed by celebrity.
At St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue, the excitement was palpable hours before his arrival. Starting at 3 p.m., the pews in the newly restored white marble sanctuary began to fill with nearly 2,500 priests, nuns and lay people.
Zaida Arce, 58, of the Bronx had a stroke this past weekend and thought she would be too ill to make it. She was invited because she serves on an archdiocesan pastoral council that meets several times a year with Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.Zaida Arce, 58, of the Bronx had a stroke this past weekend and thought she would be too ill to make it. She was invited because she serves on an archdiocesan pastoral council that meets several times a year with Cardinal Timothy M. Dolan.
“I am kind of in shock a little bit, blessed, and feeling unworthy,” she said. “Because honest to goodness, I never expected to be here.”“I am kind of in shock a little bit, blessed, and feeling unworthy,” she said. “Because honest to goodness, I never expected to be here.”
A few pews over, Kelli Nyre, the wife of the president of Iona College in New Rochelle, sat with her son, Henry, 11, who was among the few children in attendance. “It is really overwhelming to be here,” she said. “I feel an overwhelming sense of peace.” A few pews over, Kelli Nyre, sat with her son, Henry, 11, who was among the few children in attendance. “It is really overwhelming to be here,” she said. “I feel an overwhelming sense of peace.”
Sacred music started playing just after 4 p.m., as people chatted and milled about.
Francis’ visit is the fifth by a pontiff to the city. Wide areas of Manhattan have been closed to traffic, and thousands of police officers and Secret Service agents have been dispatched as part of one of the most sweeping security efforts in the city’s history.Francis’ visit is the fifth by a pontiff to the city. Wide areas of Manhattan have been closed to traffic, and thousands of police officers and Secret Service agents have been dispatched as part of one of the most sweeping security efforts in the city’s history.
The planning has been going on for months. There have been tabletop exercises, and officials have drilled for both the expected and unexpected. For weeks, agents and officers have gone to the sites on Francis’ itinerary to scope things out on the ground. Among the security measures is an extraordinary mile-long, eight-foot-tall fence up the west side of Central Park that helps creates a corridor with one goal: keeping screened spectators in and unscreened people out. Among the security measures is an extraordinary mile-long, eight-foot-tall fence up the west side of Central Park that helps creates a corridor with one goal: keeping screened spectators in and unscreened people out.
When Francis arrived in the United States this week, on his first trip to the country, he made a point of introducing himself as the son of immigrants. In this city that was largely built by immigrants, he will carve out time on Friday to meet with more than a hundred immigrants served by Catholic Charities. Francis’ visit comes at a difficult time for the New York Archdiocese. Hurt by declining church attendance, a dwindling number of priests and financial troubles, the archdiocese closed dozens of churches this summer as part of the largest reorganization in its history.
Delivering a message of peace, the pope will also visit the National Sept. 11 Memorial on Friday to pray with survivors and victims’ families. Opponents of the reorganization have cited Francis’ call for a “poor church for the poor,” arguing the archdiocese is taking away important services for the neediest. The archdiocese says it cannot be effective if it is saddled with the cost of maintaining a crumbling infrastructure that was built for an earlier era.
Francis’ visit comes at a difficult time for the New York Archdiocese. Hurt by declining church attendance, a dwindling number of priests and financial troubles, the archdiocese closed nearly 40 churches last month, part of a sweeping reorganization that reduced the total number of parishes to 296 from 368. The $177 million renovation of St. Patrick’s Cathedral amid the closings has touched a nerve among some Catholics.
Opponents of the reorganization have cited the humility of Pope Francis as they argue that by closing churches, the archdiocese is taking away services and refuges for the poor. The archdiocese says it cannot be effective if it is saddled with the cost of maintaining a crumbling infrastructure that was built for an earlier era. Francis, echoing remarks he made to a gathering of bishops in Washington, referenced the sexual abuse scandal that rocked the church, saying that many in the room had to “bear the shame of some of your brothers who harmed and scandalized the church.”
The $177 million renovation of St. Patrick’s Cathedral — which the pope will bless on Thursday evening — amid the closing of simpler churches has touched a nerve among some Catholics. Advocates for victims of abuse said the pope’s comments were insufficient.
But the news is not all glum. “Once again, he seems to be talking about the pain and embarrassment of the bishops, as opposed to the pain and embarrassment of the victims, who’ve been raped and sodomized,” said Barbara Dorris, the victims outreach director of the Survivors Network of Those Abused by Priests.
Across the three city boroughs and seven upstate counties that make up the archdiocese, there is no shortage of vibrant parishes. There are flourishing charities, soup kitchens and good works. And in some areas, particularly those welcoming new immigrants, numbers of parishioners are expanding. But for the thousands who lined Fifth Avenue as the pope made his way to St. Patrick’s, it was a moment of celebration.
New York is a city of economic extremes, and Francis will see both sides on his tour: working-class children at a parochial school in East Harlem and top Catholic donors at Thursday’s St. Patrick’s evening service. Mario Perez, 43, who has used a wheelchair for 30 years, came for the sake of his devout mother, Olga Perez.
The closest thing to an open event will be his Friday evening tour through Central Park, where he will be welcomed by some 80,000 people who won tickets through a city lottery. Ms. Perez, 66, immigrated to the United States from Honduras when her eldest son was an infant just diagnosed with spina bifida. She wanted him to grow up in the United States, she said, because she knew it would have better medical care.
Later in the evening, 20,000 people will attend Mass at Madison Square Garden. “I’m proud to be here,” she said in broken English, nodding first at the pope’s route and then at her son. “It’s all my dreams.”