Pope Francis' 2015 visit to North America
Pope Francis and President Barack Obama walk along the East Wing Colonnade
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| Date | 19–27 September 2015 |
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| Venue | For the venues, see venues |
| Location | Cuba: Havana Holguín Santiago de Cuba United States: Washington, D.C. New York City United Nations Philadelphia |
| Theme | "Love Is Our Mission" |
| Cause | 2015 World Meeting of Families |
| Organised by | |
| Website | USCCB Papal Visit 2015 |
Pope Francis's visit to Cuba, the United States, and the United Nations took place from 19 to 27 September 2015. It was the first visit to both Cuba and the U.S. for Pope Francis, as well as the third official papal visit to Cuba and the seventh to the United States since the U.S. established full diplomatic relations with the Holy See in 1984.
The published itinerary from the Vatican described the trip: "Apostolic Journey of His Holiness Pope Francis to Cuba and the United States of America, and Visit to the United Nations Organization Headquarters, on the occasion of his participation at the Eighth World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia."
The pope's visit began with a tour of Cuba – the third by a reigning Pope (after Pope John Paul II's 1998 visit, and the subsequent visit in 2012 by Pope Benedict XVI) – where he visited Havana, Holguín, and Santiago de Cuba.
The visit to the United States consisted of three cities: Washington, D.C., New York City (including his visit to the United Nations), and Philadelphia which hosted the World Meeting of Families. Tickets to attend public events with the pope were hard to obtain or sold out very quickly.
During his visit, it was announced that he would be releasing a rock album titled Wake Up! in November 2015.
Pope Francis met with Little Sisters of the Poor after mass; a Vatican spokesman stated that this was a sign of his support for them in their opposition to a contraception mandate for Catholic hospitals.
In his speech to Congress and other dignitaries, he devoted most of the time discussing immigration, protection for persecuted religious groups including Christians, poverty, capital punishment, and climate change.
Kim Davis and her husband met briefly with Pope Francis at the Apostolic Nunciature (Embassy of the Holy See) in Washington with "several dozen" other people. The Vatican issued a statement saying the Pope's meeting with Davis "should not be considered a form of support of her position in all of its particular and complex aspects." According to Father Thomas Rosica, a Vatican spokesman, Davis was not invited to the Nunciature, and "the meeting may have been manipulated by her and her lawyer."
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