Oh, In Case You Haven't Heard...The Pope Is Coming!!!

In case you haven't heard, Pope Benedict XVI will be in the United States from April 15th to the 20th. He will visit Washington D.C. and New York City. Living in D.C., I've been hearing about this for weeks. The Church, as well as the local media have given quite a bit of attention to Pontiff's 1st visit to the United States, everything from the Metro's now famous commercial featuring a bobble head pope to the Archdiocesan-wide food drive this coming weekend at all the parishes.

The Pope plans on arriving on Tuesday, the 15th and spending a few days in D.C. until Friday when he departs for New York. While in D.C. his schedule includes the typical state events like meeting with the President and another with the Bishops of the U.S. One event that has me interested will occur on Thursday evening when he will meet with the presidents of 200 catholic colleges and universities. While in New York, he will again have the "typical" meetings with the U.N. and ecumenical leaders, with a large Mass in Yankee Stadium on Sunday. (Being a Red Sox fan, I'm not entirely pleased at the location...) Event of note in New York: a Sunday morning visit to Ground Zero.

Because of the timing of his D.C. visit I will not be able to attend any of the public events (stupid work...) I have, however, secured tickets for the Yankee Stadium Mass in New York and will be driving up there next weekend. Count on some blogging as a result...

I encourage everyone to pray for the success and safety of the Pope's trip. A Papal visit rarely goes without any effect. Look for more reports and commentary coming in the next few days.