Hundreds of US Catholics awaited the arrival of Pope Francis at the airport in Washington DC Tuesday Sept. 22 alongside President Obama in order to give a warm welcome to the 78 year old Pope.

During his trip to America, Francis will visit Washington DC, Philadelphia and New York where he will most likely voice his opinion on social justice and income inequality as well as say mass and conduct prayer vigils.

In a statement, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio said the city will welcome the Pope, “with open arms…New Yorkers from all backgrounds will be tremendously humbled and honored to hear his message right here,”.

Thursday Sept. 24 is one of the most significant moments of his visit, with the first ever joint address to congress by a pontiff. The event taking place in Washington DC is highly anticipated.

In addition, Francis will pass on lunch with lawmakers after addressing Congress and will dine instead with homeless people in Washington, which is considered highly symbolic in the eyes of the Catholic people.

Francis is well known for his open minded opinions on divorce and other topics controversial to the catholic religion; However, this has in no way affected his popularity as his approval rating was 88 percent in a December poll by Saint Leo University.

The Pope’s arrival has produced one of the largest security operations in U.S. history, run by the U.S. Secret Service and the F.B.I. and involving federal, state and city law enforcement.

Jonathan Wackrow, a former Secret Service agent said, “The level of protection afforded to Pope Francis is equal to or exceeding that provided to the president of the United States.

A new CNN poll found that nearly half of Americans and 78% of Catholics were looking forward to his visit; leaving a highly anticipated weekend ahead.