Pope Francis may be coming to America, reports Catholic News Service.
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles J. Caput told attendees at a Thursday mass in Fargo, North Dakota, that the pope had accepted an invitation to attend next September's World Meeting of Families, to be held in Philadelphia.
"Pope Francis has told me that he is coming," the archbishop said, although the Philadelphia Archdiocese subsequently released a press release noting that the Vatican has not officially accepted the invitation, and probably would not do so until about six months before the event.
Still, a spokesman for the Vatican said today that Pope Francis is interested in making a trip to the U.S., and that in addition to the Philadelphia event he is also considering invitations from other cities — New York and Washington, D.C. — as well as an invitation to visit the United Nations.