Pope Francis to Address Joint Session of Congress

Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) announced today that Pope Francis will deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress this fall.

The pontiff will visit the U.S. Capitol on September 24 during a scheduled visit to the United States, which will be the first time a Pope has ever been invited to speak before Congress. His visit comes days after he is scheduled to visit the White House and deliver a mass at the Washington National Cathedral.

Unlike Boehner’s recent invitation for Israeli president Benjamin Netanyahu to speak before Congress, this isn’t as much as a surprise: Boehner, a practicing Catholic, had extended an invitation to the Pope to speak before Congress last year, and last month, Pope Francis indicated that he wanted to address both houses.

[h/t Jake Sherman]
[Image via Giulio Napolitano / Shutterstock.com]

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