Skip to main content
Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Pope, president to seek common ground in Oval Office visit

Pope Francis sits in his car, a Fiat 500, after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. The Pope is spending three days in Washington before heading to New York and Philadelphia. This is the Pope's first visit to the United States. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)
Pope Francis sits in his car, a Fiat 500, after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. The Pope is spending three days in Washington before heading to New York and Philadelphia. This is the Pope's first visit to the United States. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh) Pope Francis sits in his car, a Fiat 500, after arriving at Andrews Air Force Base, Md., Tuesday, Sept. 22, 2015. The Pope is spending three days in Washington before heading to New York and Philadelphia. This is the Pope's first visit to the United States. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

By Associated Press 1 min read

WASHINGTON (AP) – Pope Francis and President Barack Obama are set to meet in the Oval Office, two world leaders hoping to advance causes dear to them both.

It’s an encounter eagerly watched by a nation that can’t get enough of the pope – a humble man rejuvenating American Catholicism while giving heartburn to its conservatives.

Francis plans to deliver his opening remarks to the United States in an arrival ceremony Wednesday on the White House lawn. Then he’s expected to speak to America’s bishops.

His address to the bishops will be closely watched. That’s because there’s a certain disconnect between Francis’ focus on social justice and a merciful church, and the culture wars that America’s bishops have waged in recent years over abortion and gay rights.