his security detail and then returned to the loving arms of their parents. plus, there was the american president and a crowd of thousands of very lucky people to hear the pope speak on the white house lawn this morning. ahead this hour, the pope is expected to return to the motorcade heading to the basilica in northeast washington to canonize a new saint. but let's take the day chronologically thus far. that takes us to the white house and senior white house correspondent chris jansing. what was it like to be there? >> reporter: you said it. it was a spectacular day, a crowd of about 11,000 people. and it was clear from the very beginning that this was something unique. you've spent a lot of time at the white house and the time i have been here, talking to people who have spent over many administrations, years here and few ever seen anything like this. first of all, the size of the crowd, the mood of the crowd. but also, the momentousness of the occasion. that this was the first time that the first pope born in the americas was coming to america,

coming to this white house and he wasted no time, brian, delving right into politics. of course, with the vatican telling you this is all about church doctrine but he hit on at least several issues that are hot button issues right now here in washington. he started talking about immigration, describing himself as the son of immigrants and the history of this country and accepting immigrants and oof course at a time when the nominating contest heating up and the leading contend right now, donald trump, talked about deporting 11 million people. they also -- he also talked about climate change and here's where he gave pope francis perhaps the most significant attaboy, if you will. i find it encouraging you're proposing an initiative to reduce air pollution and what the vatican says as you well know, very recently the pope with a significant encyclical or

church teaching on the subject of climate change and doesn't help, doesn't hurt the president as he heads to both the u.n. and the big climate summit in paris in december. that doesn't mean that he was all on the same wave length with the president. he talked about religious liberty at a time, of course, a kentucky clerk who was jailed for refusing to sign marriage licenses for gay couples has been much conversation. and then they went into the oval office, a 40-minute meeting, the president, the pope and an interpreter. we heard the pope speak english and not completely comfortable in the language and so there was an interpreter and josh earnest made it clear there's an agreement that this was going to be a personal one on one meeting that was going to be kept between the two of those, the two of them, although they touched on many of the topics i just mentioned. but when he was asked what the

reaction was to the fact that the pope made such a strong statement on climate change, josh earnest said, it's not as though he thought no one would be listening. >> chris, there for all of it, thanks. white house is in the northwest quadrant of washington, d.c. now let's skip chronically to the next event and the northeast quadrant of the washington, d.c. specifically, the campus of catholic university, the catholic yurnt of america. as you can see, most importantly for our purposes, anne thompson covering the pope's trip all along. tell us what we're about to witness there, the signature event of the time while we're on the air. >> reporter: it is. and it's signature event of the day, a house eric first, a first time a saint has ever been canonized on u.s. soil. and it will happen during the

mass which begins at 4:15 eastern time here. 25,000 people are expected including 3 supreme court justices and republican presidential candidate jeb bush and his wife. the person who's going to be canonized made a saint is father junipero -- i apologize for pronunciation but father -- excuse me, junipero serra. he is a franciscan priest who worked in california in the late 1700s. he founded missions that became the major cities of california. but his canonization is very controversial because native americans say he abused their ancestors. he is accused of using corporal punishment on the male native americans while he was trying to protect the women and the children of their tribes. he's also accused of helping the spanish army as they went up the coast of california and as the

spanish army moved they brought diseases with them that the native americans could not fight off and as a result half of them died. native american tribes here in the u.s. have asked pope francis not to canonize father serra but it will happen and for this reason. because, first of all, pope francis believes father serra is a great example of evangelism. getting among the people and bringing the word of god. the other thing is the pope really believe that is it's important to have saints from your native countries so all the spants in the catholic church are not from europe and italy but they are people who people around the world can relate to. when he was in korea, he did the -- the same things happened. he created korean saints. he's creating an american sapt here and the highlight of his day.

brian? >> anne thompson, with that preview, we'll check in with you again. thank you very much. northeast washington. we also have mariah shriver with us, long-time friend of ours and colleague of ours who was invited to today ice white house event as a guest and attended as a journalist and with that in mind, maria, i am curious to hear what it felt like to be in the presence of this pope. >> well, brian, it was extraordinary. i think everybody, chris and everybody's been talking about that. it was one of those events that's historic and never forget it. there was so much pomp, there was so much circumstance but i thought the pope and the president spoke beautifully. i thought the president when he talked about, you know, holiness, all the people are here for you because you're the pope but i think most of the people also here because of the person you are. you remind us of our best selves

and spoke to the idea that the pope pointed out for people we could all be more open in the way we look at the world, looking more at fellow brothers and sisters. he reminds us of those in our lives and community that is are struggling and i think as i tried to say this morning, he tries elevate us all to be better people. >> maria over at the facility at the basilica in northeast washington, would be nice if choirs sang when all of us spoke and i'm afraid the choir got the better of that particular segment. all of this brings us to nbc's kate snow. after all, it is her time slot we occupy here today and thank you for letting us this be a communal effort. >> happy to be here. >> it's said the pope is not a politician but after all on this visit he is speaking at the white house. the capital. the united nations. putting himself, diving in it strikes me today into issues and

crowds and want to take a listen and a look at what he had to say about the issues. >> it was powerful to him speaking in english at the white house. chris was just talking about that. it's the first time we have seen him on american soil and really the first time i think that he's addressed the american public at length in our language, english. listen to what he said on climate change. he, of course, has made many statements saying that he believes that humans are the cause of climate change. let's take a listen. >> i'm finding it encouraging that you are proposing an initiative for reducing air pollution. [ applause ] accepting the urgency it seems clear to me also that climate

change is a problem we can no longer be left to our future generations. >> climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation. that was a large part of what we heard today was, brian, protecting the earth, protecting other people. being good to people who have less than we do. i mean, there was a real note of compassion in everything he said and he was imploring not just catholics i think but all americans to be good to their fellow human beings. >> and, that was not the only issue he decided to touch on. by the way, for all those people struggling to understand his english, try to give a speech in another language. >> try spanish or italian. >> he was gamely in there trying. but it was interesting, he kind of -- he touched on a number of things. >> he did. immigration. actually right at the top of his remarks he talked about it, framed in a very personal way.

>> as a son of an immigrant family, i'm happy to be a guest in this country which was largely built by such families. >> he is the son of immigrants, brian. you could read that if you wanted to as a political statement in a way. of course, immigration, donald trump has made no secret of his views on that topic. but you know, he just seems to want us all to as i said embrace each other, help each other. he's as we said yesterday, he's been very active in pushing countries to take in syrian refugees, in acceptance and that was along the same line. >> maybe because he is an invited guest, maybe because he

has such a presence, no one's going to accuse him in those remarks today of lecturing anyone. >> no. no. he was brief on each of these subjects. another thing he talked about this morning is religious liberty and the foundation of this nation and the constitution. take a listen to what he said on religious liberty. okay. let me quote him. we don't have it prepared right now. i don't have the quote in front of me. generally, he said, we need to protect -- we have it now. let's take a listen to what he said in his words. >> american catholics are committed to building a society which is thoroughly tolerant and inclusive. they are likewise concerned that efforts to build a just and

ordered society reflect their deepest concerns and the right to religious liberty. >> so ahead of this visit as you know, brian, a lot of the u.s. bishops have been very vocally speaking about the affordable care act, the provision that has to do with coverage of contraception. they've been worried about that. there's been a kim davis issue. with the clerk who didn't want to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. perhaps that his way of saying here's where i stand on this. >> as we said yesterday, the american way to think that the american catholic church steers the world body and it is not necessarily the case. and though the pope's words will reverberate. they're so carefully parsed and gone over. they will echo from here to

vatican city and around the world and we have so many major addresses yet to come on this trip. >> the congressional address tomorrow i think is really -- if this is a window of tomorrow, it's presumably much longer address tomorrow. i think we'll hear him again not be shy about saying what he thinks on each of these issues. he's obviously a man of conviction who wants us to know where he stands on these things and using the power of the pulpit. >> yes. >> using the power that he has and the prestige in this world to try and make some change. are there conservatives who will be upset by the things he said even today? yes. will r there perhaps people more liberal upset by some of the things? yes. i don't think -- my impression is that the pope, that's not why he's doing this. he's doing this to try to engage and get every american thinking about issues, for example, climate change. >> okay. as we think about the as we said

the signature event of the afternoon on the campus of the catholic university of america in washington, you have been able to hear in the background thus far some beautiful music, the choir and the orchestra that the pope himself will hear arriving. the crowd is enjoying. let's just take a moment, shall we, and hear it for ourselves. ♪ ♪

>> maria shriver is there on the grounds of catholic university. maria, let's talk about the courage and character of this pope as kate and i were just discussing. today's remarki ins were the fi set of remarks, big stage in front of congress and the united nations. but given his career as a man of the church, his -- the path of his life, he doesn't back down from important things when they need to be said. >> i think that's totally true, brian. i have talked a lot of people who know him, written about his life and they say that's in large part because he's a free

man. that is man who went through his own interior crisis, who was a certain kind of a leader. initially. who was kind of exiled or banished where he went through a big change in his personality. and he is a man, a jesuit, first and foremost, taken vows of poverty and simplicity and came out of the experience as somebody who wanted to be a different kind of a leader, a different kind of a man. he wanted to listen. he wanted to be more inclusive and he really has nothing to do lose, really. when you said he didn't scold this morning, this is a person that shifted emphasis of dialogue in the catholic church and made some people who two years ago embarrassed to walk into a catholic church feel proud to come into this church. they understand that this is a person who speaks from the heart, who speaks from his own convictions, simple in character, loving, compassionate. and who is a kind of person that is modeling what i think a lot

of people male and female want to be in their own lives. he has this kind of air of freedom about him like this is what i think, this is what i feel, i'm not running for office. i'm not doing a debate. that is right thing to do i think and there is a lot of freedom with that. >> there you have it. it's the people looking at their own church differently and taking pride in their church because of this new pope. and people who so admire his vow of poverty and simplicity. all the trappings that we have seen before, helicopters, red shoes, very elegant robes and vestments. very elegant living conditions in some cases. that's all gone and at the parish level and at the diocese level, we have seen a similar change in the united states. in catholic churches across this country. >> that's true.

i mean, i was talking to a priest just the day before yesterday and he said pointing to his collar, you know, two years ago people saw this on me and they thought i was a pedophile. today they say i love your pope. give him a hug. i want to know more about him. and i myself as a catholic, you know, just two years ago, that's a very short time, it was kind of embarrassing to walk into the church. you had a lot of questions. you felt bad about what was going on. you felt bad they weren't responding to the allegations. doing anything about it. and now you have a man who has really changed that, stepped forward who has made changes. not only in the vatican but all the way down to the kind of parish level. and people tell me all the time that their parish priests are talking differently and they feel a sense of pride when they walk in the doors so i think that we're all going to be talking a lot about climate change and immigration. but i think if you stand back, what people will really be looking at is this is a model, this is a man in public life and

we see so much of our institutions crumbling around us. and in our polling, people felt much more sympathetic and emphathetic to him than the institution of the church. he's managed to intrigue people with his language and his approach. and made people as i said earlier want to be better people and emulate as best they can in our democracy and a consumer capitalistic society to live maybe just a little bit more simply and look at their fellow man, to be aware of the struggles of 99% in this country. >> maria shriver, thank you for putting it so well. there is a change, indeed, in the american catholic church after so many years of crisis. most of it attributable to this one man who we were reminded again today is human. at the age of 78, and with one lung, he had a rest period built into the schedule. that is about to come to an end. he is about to get back in the motorcade and go over to the

event at catholic university. our special live coverage will take a break here and return right after this. it's from daddy. sfx: dad's voice i love you baby girl. duracell quantum lasts longer in 99% of devices so you can always be there. ♪

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is after you help a customer, seeing a smile on their face. together, we're building a better california. we are back with our continuing live coverage of this visit of pope francis to the united states. that was the sun this morning outside what is in effect the vatican embassy, that gave the pope almost a glow, a halo, because of the angel of the sun. kids and adults had in many cases waited overnight the see him emerge in the morning. and he just went at it. he went at the crowd with great vigor and energy. the smaller the child, the

better. there is something about the tenderness with which this very tactile pope greets especially children, especially special needs children who have been at every stop along the we and the security detail, waiting for him to get in i guess what is fiat 1 and another motorcade to the northeast section of washington, d.c. to catholic university. we have just in the last few minutes watched a number of u.s. cardinals arrive. in the audience. jeb bush has arrived. in the vip section. of the audience. it will be quite a star-studded event there today. one of the signature events during the pope's time in washington. to that end, we want to bring in an old friend, senior vatican analyst who is at the basilica. george wagel, an author, a thinker and a biographer, the best of the vatican watchers we

have ever been able to find. and george, you and i have yet to speak during this. i'm so curious what typical pope francis attributes you have seen yet and what you're looking for yet in this trip. >> brian, the pope has displayed a remarkable public personality that two and a half years ago when we were discussing his election no one expected him to have. you remember the night he came out on the balcony of st. peters and then over the next several months, the shy and reticent man is one of the most extraordinary public personalities in the world. i said this morning that i think what's going on here is a genuine pastor with the ability

to touch hearts, a man who knows that the world needs a pastor, whether the world thinks of its needs in those terms or not and that is what he's trying to bring here. the robust defense of religious liberty at the white house this morning was a tip of the papal skull cap, if you will, to his american bishops who had been contesting that issue for several years now. and a signal to them that he is firmly in their corner in that fight. i think what we're going to see this afternoon is the spiritual heart of this entire pilgrimage. junipero serra is for pope francis a role model for all catholics. he's a man who left a comfortable academic career to sail literally to what he thought of was the ends of the earth. 6,000 miles awe to bring the good news of jesus christ, to

bring incorporation into his body the church, and to give up everything to do that. he never went home again. so when pope francis talks about going out to the peripheries, fining the people who are wounded, finding the lost, finding those who haven't heard the word of god, he's thinking of people like junipero serra and he's challenging the entire catholic church to be that, to make all of these remarkable institutions platforms for the buzzword is evan gellism. we're at the spiritual heart of the pilgrimage here with pope francis an i expect his homily will reflect those themes today. >> you mentioned his work as a pastor. this being the modern era, the other part of his job description, no other term for it. ceo of a vast and sprawling organization. how is he doing at that role?

>> the pope has made remarkable and heartening progress in reforming vatican finances. this was a demand placed upon him by the cardinals who elected him two and a half years ago. he brought in one of the shrewdest men in the catholic church of australia to lead a root and branch reform of the economic life of the holy sea and they have made tremendous progress on that front. i think he's done less well in reforming the bureaucracy. there's a lot of resistance to changing things on the organizational chart there. but that's proceeding ahead. what i think pope francis frundmentally wants to do, though, is not tinker with structures. he wants to reenergize this church for a 21st century of mission and in that sense he's

picking up the great theme of the last half of the pun tiff cat of john paul ii talking about the new evangelism and a church recovering the sense of missionary fervor. who pope francis is reminding us is that oftentimes example invites people to consider the gospel more than lecture. and he's summoning all of us as maria said to be the exemplars of christian joy, compassion, christian truth telling and in doing that to bring others into the community of faith fly's the word joy again. george weigel, it is always a joy to have you. thank you very much. we've been watching as george is speaking live pictures where the pope has emerged and as if to thank all of the many adults and children who have spent the long

hours in the sun waiting for a glimpse, say nothing of personal contact, he went over to the barricade again and greeted as many of them, touched as many of them as he could before getting in to probably the most talked about car on the globe these past 24 hours. the four-door black fiat 500 that has been his sedan of choice for this trip. he has switched in to the highly modified jeep pope-mobile, a bullet-proof glass canopy and open on the sides. this is -- has been routinely called the largest national security event in the nation's history. and as if to underscore that, we saw the director clancy of the united states secret service at the last stop the pope made kind of an underscoring the security

of this and the -- just the scope director clancy came from the protection side of the secret service so this is his -- this is his occupation. you see the nuns who make up the staff there at again what is the nunciature or in effect the vatican's embassy in washington, d.c. kate snow is remaining here with us in the studio. kate, you and i have been watching the images for 24 hours. we have to remember that people have camped outside. people have flown for hours to be there. people have driven. people have walked. >> look at the little baby. they bring the smallest of children to be blessed. i don't know if you saw it talking but he did make the sign of the cross and bless the crowd very briefly. but that's important to catholics. that's something that i was at the vatican this summer and my mother-in-law when's catholic asked me to bring something with me to bless for her.

>> absolutely. >> i know the significance of that. but yeah. they have been out there all day waiting for that moment and see people taking selfies, a man, remember for security reasons, this is so silly, but they have asked them not to bring selfie sticks. pete williams was reportin could be potentially a weapon and sort of limited and we have seen so many pictures on social media and only imagine, every one of the cameras people are posting those and spreading all over the world. >> well, the pope entered the gathering of bishops earlier today. i was stunned at the number of bishops who rather than live in the moment took out their devices and were recording it, especially those with prime seats on the aisle as the holy father passed by. but just look at this. look at the yearning to touch him, the yearning to see him. as george weigel said, he is probably the largest man. >> i believe that's monosenior

mark miles, the pope's translator in english. he is from gibraltar and speaks fluently spanish and english and sort of become, you know, every time you see the pope, you see him nearby and become the defacto translator for the pope. >> we want to bring in a girl named enya who's originally from lithuania. came to this country at age 2 and was in a very, very coveted position earlier today and your picture has now been beamed all over the world because you took a selfie. there it is. with the holy father. tell us what he said, what you think of him. and how it is you were able to get into that great position. >> well, the way i got into that position was from my lit wanian school i go to, lit wanian

school an i i wouldn't have one it without monsenor and he gave us a wonderful opportunity to go see him and i did not realize that i would actually see the pope. well, i did see the pope, like, meet him, and it was just amazing when i got to shake his hand and he gave us a blessing. and it was just amazing. >> a lot of people say, enya, you can feel a kind of power that passes into you, especially if you're a catholic and in the presence of the pope and especially this pope. did you feel anything? >> yes. i did. it was -- it was a worthwhile experience. it was just amazing when i got to actually shake his hand and it was amazing. >> have you heard from people -- do you have any way of knowing how far and wide this picture of you and pope francis has

traveled around the world? >> i actually have not. i just actually recently realized that it has gone, like that picture has gone worldwide. i did not know that. >> it sure has. you may be the biggest figure in america and lithuania for a while here going into the evening. what does he mean to you as a young american catholic? >> he means a lot. i think as him being the highest position of our catholic church, it's -- it's just an amazing opportunity to have just been there. i thought it was just fantastic. >> and thank you very much for being us. enya -- did i get that okay? >> yeah, you did. >> thank you very much. i'm so happy for you that you had this experience and this encounter. memories say nothing of a photograph. you'll remember for the rest of your life.

thank you very much for agreeing to be interviewed about it today. kate snow, that is just what we were talking about. >> exactly. he is -- we have said this for two days now. he is the people's pope. he seems to love those moments. we were talking earlier at the white house. he almost looked a little uncomfortable with the pomp and circumstance. he seems to prefer shaking hands and being tactile, being with the people. there was a little girl earlier today who handed him a letter. he accepts people's gifts. all along the way. and when we see him in a few minutes in the pope-mobile, switching from that fiat to the -- what we call the pope-mobile, the jeep wrangler and accept things along the way as he's -- and then give them to other people sometimes. >> yeah. it is incredible. the volume of gifts he receives over the course of an hour say nothing of an average day. we wanted to let you know that there are two types of motorc e motorcades on this trip. closed and open a. part of his

ride right now across two portions of washington d.c. is closed. thoos s that is to say, the roads are closed and make good time and then switch into the pope-mobile and people see him and make his entrance. we'll have it for you live. the special coverage connues right after this. proud of you, son. ge! a manufacturer. well that's why i dug this out for you. it's your grandpappy's hammer and he would have wanted you to have it. it meant a lot to him... yes, ge makes powerful machines. but i'll be writing the code that will allow those machines to share information with each other. i'll be changing the way the world works. (interrupting) you can't pick it up, can you? go ahead. he can't lift the hammer. it's okay though! you're going to change the world.

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the embassy. and watched his departure. >> reporter: good to see you. we see that little fiat drive off and going on there was a crowd gathering here outside the nunciature. some people just walking by. we ended up with a sizable group of dogs, people were walking the dogs down the street. kind of getting into it a little bit. many people came to see the pope specifically. ann and chela from hungary originally. you waited for a chance to see him. >> yes. waiting for an hour. and what happened? >> and i was taken out of school early at lunchtime and this is a surprise for me. i didn't know i was going to see pope francis but my mom took me out. >> it is historical event and it was once in a lifetime. and she was really excited. >> yeah. >> reporter: yes? better than being in school? >> yeah, pretty much. >> reporter: tell me a little bit about -- you said your

mother catholic and worshipping in hungary and difficult for her. >> yeah. it was like a different regime. it was during the communist socialist regime and she went to catholic school so there was some difficulties there. but also my grandfather used to play the church organ at church so practicing religion and we go to church. >> reporter: thank you for your time. there are a handful of people spending the day, effort and energy and came in from virginia which may not sound that far but if you know the traffic in washington you know how long it took them. >> 50 miles of tyson's corner and come to a stop for hours. we should not forget that the pope's visit about the very two people kasie hunt spoke to and also about an old friend and host of "hardball," chris matthews, a catholic most of his life and a big thinker for a listening time and, chris, what

do you make of the pope's visit thus far and what are you looking forward to? >> well, for the first moment i saw the white house and prepared to greet him, i thought this was the day we wish we had "life" magazine. these are color pictures. a day of beautiful pictures. i also was struck by the enthusiasm and the love that these people, everybody seems to have for this visitor. how can he not like america after this? it's the first time he's come here. he must say, this country is in love with me. that's hard to reject that. i think that's the powerful message. i thought michelle obama can be a mood ring in many ways and a hard sell at times and seemed really happy to see him. the president exuberant, giggling in those scenes and easier to sell and seemed really, really happy to be here today. the other thing that struck me, the physicality of the pope. compare him to benedict vi.

you couldn't imagine going near him. so fragile and removed, remote even. and this guy, so italian. grabbing the crowd. reminded me of a father's knights of columbus buddies. being physical with the people. it's like a parish priest on a sick call. physically in touch with people. >> also important to remember that john paul ii the first tactile pope and understood people and crowds. chris, we are looking at what i believe is michigan avenue and these are live pictures of the motorcade as it makes the final turn. there's the fiat carrying the pope and it's making the final turn into the event. i know you well enough to know that you are also probably thinking about president kennedy today having written about him

extensively the way the catholic church is viewed in american life and his kind of pioneering place in all that. >> you know, it's amazing. we had a president-elected the first catholic in 1960 and the republicans within 4 years nominated someone for vice president as catholic and no one noticed. that's how good the country is. we make the changes and don't know they happen and we forget about them. we have an african-american first family. the stunning picture of an african-american, couple receiving a visit from the papacy and take it for granted now most of us do. stunning event and behind us, that great deep if you will. that's the country, how it quickly adapts. we saw the dangers of smoking fast and the europeans and the japanese and said, how come we're the first to get it so often? i think we have that american ability to adapt quickly to reality and to justice. i thought it was interesting today we speak of catholics and

i think a calf fear yefeteria a the pope's statement today. the conservatives jump on obamacare and liberals for climate change and income inequality and something for everyone and someone just pointed out that he's the leader on the issue of religious freedom in this country and i thought that was politically on the mark. >> chris, another friend of ours, chuck todd, predicted yesterday, he said, if we're not careful this could affect the discourse in this country for upwards of one to two weeks. the discourse that's become -- >> that is so well said. so well said. everyone's exuberant with the new pope. the 99% of catholic who is go to mass every sunday or church a lot and believe in the sacraments and try to be good

people, they will go through this. the catholic church isn't based on current popularity. and it's based on -- a phrase i used this morning may offend some people but it's too big to fail. the cardinal of washington who you know told me about three months ago that they made a point, the college of cardinals, to find a pastoral pope, someone who was going to be out there, not theologian but touch the people. and they got one. and i think that's the ability of the church to adapt to what it needs to do. they saw the weakness of benedict, the coldness of the fellow after john paul ii and you have borked at the white house, how the president refers to the pope. jimmy carter, i worked for him as a speech writer, as you know. he wouldn't call him your holiness. he called him in the second person, pope john paul ii,

strange use of the second person. this president called him your holy father right through and no problem addressing the pope. didn't say your holiness and did say holy father and we've made progress. >> do you believe in the phrase each generation get it is leaders it deserves where the catholic church is concerned? >> jefferson was right about our country and that, too. i think we're picking them, i think the availability of people as great as this man is probably pretty short and came in second it's believed in the election last time to benedict. benedict came out and i was here and i wasn't there but right before it and he gave a wonderful mark anthony speech and he just raved about john paul ii and almost guaranteed he would be elected and he was and i think second ballot and i think there's politics involved and the church wants to prevail, not just survive and knows we

need the lapsed catholics and to tell gay people they can't be catholics or women married, the wrong marriage the first time and second marriage is working out well and happy with their marriage and the husband is happy and same way around with husbands and wives, i think they said, why don't you come become to church and the same with people who have had abortions. i think it's wonderful that the pope says it's a sin. we are not going to change on that. go to confession. get it behind you and rejoin us and come to communion. this is about compassion. we need it. we need it everywhere. >> chris, an e-mail has gone out apparently from the speaker of the house to members reminding everybody about decorum in the chamber when the pope addresses both houses. do you have any concerns along those lines? >> well, i don't think anyone's going to say you lie but we did i think divert from the bipartisan notions of foreign visitors with bb netanyahu.

that was more partisan than it should have been. i think there's an effort now to make sure when they stand up, joe biden the vice president stands up, president of the senate. when they stand stand up, they going to try to do it as a group and not have certain times where joe biden stands up and john boehner doesn't stand up. i really think that would be good for this visit, that they all stand up together or don't stand up together. so it's not one of those, you know, like, i don't know, one of these -- "the price is right" situations or something where there's a competition as to when you stand. i really do think they are going to avoid the thing they had about netanyahu. i don't think this thing -- this event tomorrow should be anything more than a tototally bipartisan. >> meantime, chris, what has this done to washington? >> you and i have been working here, we love this city most of the people in washington who work here came here to work 'cause they love this city. they love what it means to the world. they know what it means to them as americans. we never get tired of looking at the lincoln memorial when we drive by or looking across the

kennedy grave when we drive by the potomac late at night. we always look for that flicker, i always do, i know. do you proud like the san franciscans r this is a beautiful day. i was going over his parade route coming down to, you know, embassy row and coming down from across the vice president's house on madison avenue and coming down the white house and the trip up -- basically a trip up to capitol hill. he has got to love what he sees it is a beautiful little city of certificate of humble pretensions, a symbol of the 1850s, early 19th century. it was really built bay a very small group of colonies, 13 of them that said, you know, ber going to be a big country, continental power, world power some day let's build something appropriate to that. and we did, but we also kept the little white house, the irish guy that built the white house, a nice little house compared to the power of the man within it the capital is obviously european but so proud of the rep pledge ka we made of it and built in our country. we love this city. i always tell people, come to because, you already paid for it and they did.

everything is free here. and so, i -- it's a city of museums and mon automatic and we love it and we hope the pope gets a taste of it, but he must be amazed at how -- we are not a bunch of crazy capitalists or cruel people who don't care about the underdog. this is a country of the underdog. and i hope he picks up on that in the few days he is here. certainly get it in philly, as you know that city as well, the city of rocky. it is the city of the working class underdog in that city. >> i hope he stops at jim's steaks, 4th and south and orders it the right way. >> that could be trouble, you know, with cheese whiz, may have do a couple. >> there's gino's, a lot of different places, depending on your taste. chris matthews, whose patriotism is matched only by his exuberance on this topic. these are live pictures of the motorcade. this is a retrofitted jeep, with as you see, a bulletproof shield from front to back but the sides are open and look, people have been looking at these live

pictures all day and we know the era we live in and we remember john paul ii. and this puts a lump in your throat. this is harrowing. the pope has been asked time and time again about his personal security, to no one's surprise, his answer is, it's in god's hands. and the only thing worse for him would be to be cpletely bottled up inside there. while he can't reach out and touch those on both sides, he compromises by asking his driver to go straight down the middle of the street. he, at times this morning, has asked that young children, babies, be passed over to him so he can give them a kiss on the top of their head and a blessing and return them to their parents. but this, what you're seeing, while frustrating for a tactile, forgive the phrase, retail pope gives him some pleasure because there's nothing but air between him and these people who have been here for hours and days,

waiting for just a glimpse, just a wave. as kate snow pointed out, his hand moving in the sign of the cross is like a blessing conferred on the crowd. and it has a real powerful effect. >> yeah, again, i'm not catholic, so maybe we should bring kathleen in who knows better, but i know the significance of that. and just to -- just to see, most of those people are never going to be even close enough to get a full view, but i don't think it matters to them. >> it doesn't matter. kathleen, before you answer, we should tell our viewers the home who have not seen you yet, we are looking at the motorcade pictures, if you were with us yesterday, you met kathleen spruce cummings, associate professor of american studies at, of all places, notre dame. and has appeared for us as an expert on this subject and has written a great amount on this subject. now, kathleen, talk about the power of a glimpse, the power of a blessing, the power of a

gesture. >> the power, it's connecting a local church with the spiritual leader of the universal church. the reasons why people are so excited about this visit are the same reasons why people are so excited about what's about to happen, a canonization on american soil, the very first time someone -- another holy hero that comes from this land. and i think that's what people are yearning for and why they are going to great lengths just to get close to him, even just to wave. >> i mentioned this earlier, it was really important to see cret service director clancy out with the agents, with the vehicle, doing really his life's work, which was protecting presidents as recently as president obama. you see the number of people around this pope it does not remove the risk. >> combination of u.s. secret service and vatican security. earlier in the day, we saw some of his own personal vatican security bringing people up to

him, children handed over. that's not happening right now. >> and another incredible vehicle, and i think it was pope john paul ii, where we really got to know the term, popemobile and half joking at first, but now, it has become a category of vehicle. we are going to -- we are going to be quiet for just a moment and let you listen to this crowd.

[ bells tolling ] >> the weather is so beautiful in washington today, it's enough to make you believe he has connections. it's absolutely stunning day in washington. this, as i keep saying, is one of the highest points in the district, not far from the home where abe lincoln used to bring his family during the sweltering hot washington summers because height doubles your chances of catching a refreshing breeze in the district of columbia. but just a stunner of a day. and you see, kate, there rounding the kind of final turn on the motorcade prior to stopping. >> this is the catholic university campus in northeast washington and having lived there a long time that basilica

he is going to is also one of the highest points in washington. it is really the catholic basilica, on the other side of town, you have got the national cathedral that you see when you look at the skyline of washington. >> ever so briefly attended college there and remember those grounds very well, lived right across the street on michigan avenue there. this is just electrifying for this crowd. this being the age of digital devices, half are waving, half are recording the moment. >> look at all the people running to get a view. >> that's what really makes for a security challenge. between the vatican security and secret service, they are very good at getting the read on say the first five or six people back but then the crowds that come along with the vehicle just must be harrowing. >> but popes have been doing this, i was -- the "washington post" has an amazing piece today about the popemobiles, right,

printed it out for you, 'cause i know how you love your cars. 1929 was the first vehicle, fiat back then. >> specially made. >> specially made for the vatican. so, this is a tradition. in fact, before that, it was horse and carriage. >> right. popes have always wanted to be able to see. >> and with this pope maria mentioned freedom as something the way people talk about him. the radical freedom of not worrying about your own life so you can be out there with the people, that that's what matters, i think that is remarkable way to understand freedom and different in the way we would define freedom here in the united states. i think it truly speaks to who he is and what he wants to do, what he wants the church to do. >> because we have been discussing security, pete williams' ears perked up in our washington bureau, our justice correspondent, who covers security, among many other topics. and pete, in washington, of course, we have the confluence of congress, we have enormous

crowds when the pope comes to new york. we have, at the same time, the u.n. general assembly. everyone's been -- been warned to expect massive closures. and then the third prong, philadelphia, open-air space, good weather predicted, well over 1 million people predicted, that's what makes this the largest national security convenient, am i right, in the history of the nation? >> oh, without question. this is just such a huge undertaking for securities this multinational team, a mixture there next to the pope mow bell of u.s. and vatican city security. by the way, the plate on the front of the mope mobile says scv-1. scc stands for, as you know in latin, vatican city state one, it would be like having a license plate that says u.s. 1. and every car he gets into has that plate, little fiat has the same thing. but that is the security challenge, a huge turnout. now, this crowd is a little different from the one this