Pope's Powerful Address Before Congress; Pontiff Leads Vespers Service at St. Patrick's in Manhattan

Land of dreams...

 Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker John Boehner welcoming Pope Francis to the joint session of Congress today. 

Pope Francis, the first pontiff in history to address Congress, praised the United States today but at the same time challenged it.

He applauded America as the land of the free and home of the brave as well as a land of dreams and a place of opportunity.

He also challenged Congress and by extension the mightiest nation in history on Thursday to break out of its cycle of polarization and paralysis to finally use its power to heal the “open wounds” of a planet torn by hatred, greed, poverty and pollution, Peter Baker and Jim Yardley wrote on nytimes.com.

For more on the pope's address, including a video: http://www.nytimes.com/2015/09/25/us/pope-francis-congress-speech.html?_r=0

Pope Francis arriving at St. Patrick's in Manhattan this evening.

This evening, the pope led the evening prayers at St. Patrick's in Manhattan.  At their conclusion, Timothy Dolan, cardinal of New York, said to the pope, "When you came through those doors off Fifth Avenue this evening, you became an honorary New Yorker."

He ending by joking with the pope, "Thank you for stopping by and come back soon," much to the pontiff's delight.

And in case you're wondering just who are those people in the pope's entourage, Dan Zak on washington.post.com has the answer.

The group is about 100 people, which makes it less of a flock and more of a herd, Zak reports.

For a rundown on those traveling with the pope:  https://www.washingtonpost.com/lifestyle/style/whos-that-with-pope-francis-the-seven-kinds-of-people-you-meet-in-a-papal-entourage/2015/09/22/545822fc-5e30-11e5-9757-e49273f05f65_story.html

Pope Francis arriving at Joint Base Andrews outside Washington on Tuesday.

Finally, if you're wondering about the pope's schedule:  usatoday.com