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Pope Francis touches down in US

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Pope Francis has arrived in US. And in a rare departure from protocol, the president, vice-president and their families turned up to greet the pontiff, underlining the huge expectations for a historic visit which will include talks at the White House and addresses to Congress, the United Nations and vast crowds in Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

The US and Vatican flags fluttered from the cockpit as the papal plane taxied to a halt where an honour guard, dignitaries, clerics and schoolchildren waited. A high school band had set the mood earlier with a rendition of Pharrell Williams’ Happy.

Read also: Pope grants priests power to forgive abortionists

The 78-year-old Catholic leader smiled broadly as he touched US soil for the first time – and promptly received his first taste of US informality in the form of chants of “Francisco” and “Hey hey, ho ho, welcome to the USA!”

Credit: theGuardian

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