Stephen Hicks, The Examiner
2007-11-13 08:00:00.0
Current rank: Not ranked

WASHINGTON -

The pope is coming to town in April.

A Vatican official told American bishops Monday that Pope Benedict XVI, leader of the Catholic Church, will make a six-day visit to the U.S., stopping in Washington and New York.

According to the Vatican, Benedict is scheduled to arrive in the United States on April 15. The White House will host a reception for Benedict on April 16. The next day, he will celebrate Mass at the Nationals’ baseball stadium and speak at Catholic University of America.

The Very Rev. David O’Connell, president of Catholic University, said he was excited about the pope’s plans.

“I’m thrilled beyond words,” O’Connell said. “This is a wonderful occasion to celebrate Catholic education.”

Benedict’s visit to the university will include a speech before an invitation-only audience of Catholic school educators from across the United States.

Students and faculty will also have a chance to meet Benedict, O’Connell said.

Following the pope’s D.C. visit, he will go to New York, where he’s scheduled to speak before the United Nations and hold Mass at Yankee Stadium. He also will visit the site of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks in New York in an effort to show “solidarity with those who have died, with their families and with all those who wish an end of violence and in the search of peace,” said Archbishop Pietro Sambi, the Vatican ambassador to the United States.

Sambi announced the plan at the start of a three-day meeting of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in Baltimore.

The Associated Press contributed to this story.