presidential candidates and for those of us who are americans. >> we think about the moment that we're in, we were thinking earlier today, we were saying, tonight is the state dinner for the president of china and monday at the u.n. the president is set to meet with vladimir putin. these are times when maybe the pope could come in handy as a neutral voice. >> absolutely. >> i mean that in all seriousness, as a moderator. >> think about the days of what the pope's hours have been like, now what president obama's hours have been like, you know these guy guys are working hard for what they can do. i can't imagine any of us say i'll meet the pope today, the chinese guy tomorrow, putin the next. having to be on each of those things. >> he's taking his time, going down the way here, greeting everyone personally, which is not unexpected for this pope. >> what you feel about him is that he gets energy from the people. and again, that's something you

want. not somebody isolated, somebody sitting at home, thinking about what to do, thinking about what to say. there's a sense of not just accessibility but as i said before, empathy. i think that's the most important quality in a leader and he has it profoundly. >> secretary of state john kerry continuing to talk to pope francis as he approaches the staircase of this jet that will take him from washington, d.c., to new york city. we're only halfway through the day here. he comes to new york, lands at jfk, heads straight to st. patrick's cathedral, after being on a helicopter for a time. he'll be at st. patrick's delivering mass. >> that's what's interesting about his need for solitude and reflection, too getting up at 4:30 in the morning so he has couple of hours of prayer. think again about our current leaders today. they need time for reflection and so often don't get it in our 24/7. there's bells, that's reflective. >> we are sitting right in front of st. patrick's. you hear bells toll for 4:00 eastern time right now, as pope

francis walk up the stairs and into the plane that will carry him to new york city. it's an american airlines jet. they always use american, the carrier of the country that they're in. >> i think, too, he believes in symbolism as a part of leadership. so that small car that he first came in the popemobile, now the not very fancy plane, you embody the things you believe in the ways you present yourself to the public. that's another important quality. >> elizabeth, are you still with us on the phone, inside the plane? >> i am. >> tell me what you see. >> well, right now, trying to kch catch a glimpse of the aisle, when pope francis might board the plane. a curtain's closed. i can peek out the window. it's clear that everyone who is

here has been appreciative of the pope's visit. yeah, i think we're all kind of waiting for that moment to get going and move on to -- he keeps pace with a jam-packed schedule. moved from one event to the next. so we're trying to keep up. >> right. our colleague, anne thompson who travels with the pope for nbc news, was telling me earlier, once on board the plane, he likes to get out as fast as they can, he doesn't waste any time. he doesn't want to dawdle. it should be an hour before they touch down here. >> no, we expect to be moving wheels up really very soon after he's on board. and that's his signal on to the next. >> you can't see from your vantage point, elizabeth, but he is on board the plane. we just watched him walk inside. >> okay, well then, we're ready to go. >> luke, thank you so much,

elizabeth. we'll let you go on with your journey. luke russert, you're standing outside. there was quite a moment between secretary kerry and the pope. they must have talked for a good minute or two. >> at least, kate. i was, frankly, surprised how intimate the conversation was on an open tarmac in front on over 1,000 people. secretary kerry getting very close to pope francis and for a life long path, somebody who harbored presidential aspirations at one time if my mind i thought, wow, john kerry's presidential moment as he's doing it as secretary of state. now, the carpet, as you can see behind me, is being rolled up. secretary kerry and the other auxiliary bishops here as representatives of the church are here. cardinal wuerl, bishop of washington, ace here as well. he rode in that fiat with pope francis to the send-off ceremony, somebody who has been very much involved in francis' ascent dance, how he works in the american church. i've got to tell you, i've

covered a lot of things, been fortunate to cover a lot of thing for nbc news. i've got to put this near the very top simply because of the excitement in this sense area. was exciting at the basilica yesterday, exciting at vatican embassy when the pope came on tuesday. but to see the look and the faces of these children, to see service members, almost tear up, to see secretary of state john kerry so proud of his wife theresa by his side. secret service agents often stoic and stone-faced cracking a little bit of a smile, it says something not only about the pope but how america has taken him in. now he will be in new york, i can only imagine the welcome he'll get there. such a catholic city. i suspect it's going to be a record -- going to be record breaking. >> yeah. crowds are already gathered. already building here, luke russert. thank you so much. doris, turning back to you, as a historian, we saw the president and the meeting they had in the oval office.

he and pope francis yesterday. is it -- is it historically, have presidents aligned themselves with popes before? >> not in the same way as i think we're seeing now, just because the politics seems to be aligned in a certain way. i mean obviously there's a respect for the two people that we've season various times. and i suppose you could talk about the cold war and the al e alinement of reagan and the pope as anti-communist. but this one feels more intimate, in a funny way. you know, i think in a certain sense what the pope is trying to do is create public sentiment and then public sentiment can then go back and change doctrine eventually as time goes by. that's one of the things lincoln always talked about he who create public sentiment is more important than the law giver. maybe changing sentiment about the poor, inequality, immigration, slowly it can affect us and go back and even affect the catholic church as well. >> and on all of the issues that he mentioned today, there were

many, many issues that he ticked through as he gave a speech to congress, there one that you think, perhaps, perhaps he's on to something, perhaps we could make progress there? >> i think the most important thing is something called fellow feeling. what he's saying is we have to understand where other people come from, we have to care about the vulnerable and think about what it's like to be them growing up. think about the undocumented immigrant growing up and if you can do that in a civic society, if you can think about where the other person is, you can come together for a common ground. and that's bigger than any of the specific issues. that's a way of thinking and that's a way of thinking we haven't seen too much in the last broken washington years. >> stand by, doris kearns goodwin. looking at pictures from a few moments ago of pope francis boarding plane that will ferry him up to new york city, where he'll land at john f. kennedy airport, outside manhattan, in queens. and then he'll take a helicopter at one point over to manhattan and then come up fifth avenue in

new york city to st. patrick's cathedral, where we're sitting now in front of the cathedral. that's just today. and then tomorrow, we were speaking with governor pataki earlier about ground zero, the ceremony that will happen there and of course a mass at madison square garden friday night, central park also involved. it's going to be quite a trip in new york. of course another city, philadelphia, over the weekend, where the pope will most likely see millions and millions of people. this pope does seem, as you've said, doris, transcend politics and to transcend in some ways catholicism. he's not just -- i fine myself and a lot of my friends have been saying, as someone who is not a person of the catholic face, we still can relate to him somehow. >> i think that's a quality that's ingrown in a person, although he would even say himself that he develops that feeling of empathy and fellow feeling over time that he didn't understand it when he was young and he did have a different way of leading and then went into exile and learned from failure to come back and open himself to

live among the poor, learn from their experience. it's an extraordinary thing. it's what all politicians should want to do. it's the glory of politics to learn about other people and absorb interests and help bring them together. >> luke, do you get the sense that they are close to take-off here? >> i believe so. however, the cockpit window is still open with the vatican flag flying out of it. i look on the back of the jet and there are still a few people being loaded on. so i presume once that back door is shut, all of the journalists and personnel are on the flight will get moving. as i think mentioned before, the pope does like to take-off once he boards the plane, similar to much of us who travel for a living, does not like sitting on the tarmac. quite a picture in front of me developing, secretary of state john kerry with all of the auxiliary bishops and the cardinal staring at the airplane. you know it takes somebody

special for john kerry to stand on a tarmac to see them off. much of the crowd is still here, none have left yet, still waving out the window to the pope. a lot of military service families as well as catholic schoolchildren. no one leaving to get on the buses to go away until this plane pulls out. as far as what we'll see, kate, one hour, that's the time it takes to get to new york city. obviously, the reception for the pope was magnanimous in washington. i can only imagine in new york, just listening to your coverage, the pope going down fifth avenue to the newly renovated st. patrick's cathedral, looks beautiful, beautiful limestone. i think it's going to be pretty special. should be under way here shortly. the back door needs to be taken care of is close to complete. >> okay. luke russert, we'll keep our eye on joint base andrews as we continue to see john kerry on

left side, that was a few moments ago at departure of pope francis. they engaged in a couple minutes of conversation. i'm hoping we'll learn eventually what that conversation was. let me bring in con man juan vargas, serves 51st district of california. you were there this morning and your history for people who don't know, you were once in a jesuit order once yourself. you have a unique perspective on what's playing out here. thoughts? >> i was very excited. i did have the opportunity last year to meet the pope in the vet can. i was very excited to see him come here, i was at the white house, i was at mass yesterday. i saw him today. and honestly, he electrified the city and brought a lot of hope to all of us. i've been talking to some colleagues that we fight over immigration, some are saying, maybe there's a chance to do something here. there's a wonderful spirit. i hope we can keep it. it's been fantastic to see the pope here in washington, how well he's been received.

>> are the members of congress still talking about it? it's hours later now. is this the kind of thing that's going to resonate for days and weeks and months? >> yeah, it is. you know one of the things that i found interesting, i spoke to a colleague of mine that's a republican, not a catholic, and he said, wow, the pope is so much bigger in a sense than the presidency. and i said, really, it is i mean it's an incredible position. it's a a spiritual position, obviously, and it's one that really does have the ability, i think to move people. and so, yeah, we've been talking about it, we -- someone said we're all seem to be in a daze almost, positive daze and i think that's true. so again, as a catholic, as a former jesuit, is and a jesuit for five years, very, very excited especially his feelings of not only empathy, as you said, but mercy. showing mercy towards people. justice and mercy. it's been magnificent. i guess, you know, he's going to say the same thing in new york, maybe it will catch on. i hope it does. >> the golden rule was one of the things that got the biggest

standing ovation, when he said that. so perhaps it will stick at least for a little while and people -- in capitol hill and beyond will treat each other with kindness. >> you know, the golden rule certainly did. also he said, isn't this what we want for children, talking about immigrant children and also about people trying to make a better life for themselves, isn't this what we want for our kids, a better life? i think that also moved people. i've heard that from two republicans who said the same thing. there's something to what the pope's saying there obviously i think there is. but maybe something positive can come out of it, because that's what i'd like to see. there is stagnation here, i think the pope was telling us be courageous, go forward, don't allow calcification to stay. go forward, do something positive. i hope we do something positive here. >> thanks for being with us. appreciate that. i want to turn to new york city now as we wait for the plane to take off from washington, make the trip up here to new york.

we've have talked about how the crowds have already begun to gather here on fifth avenue, which is below where we are, right next to st. patrick's cathedral where we find nbc's stephanie gosk. it's got to be getting crowded down there. >> reporter: it is, kate. you know, 4:15 in the afternoon, mid town manhattan on fifth avenue and there is not a car on the street. you see crowds beginning to gather. everyone that's behind these barricades here has gone through a mag knnetometer. behind that an eight-foot chain link fence. stretches 12 city blocks and 3 after blocks wide. completely encircles cathedral. anyone trying to get close to the pope has to go over the fence. kate? >> stephanie gosk, keeping an eye on the scene on the ground, just below us here on fifth avenue in new york, as that crowd starts to build.

we'll continue to go back there for now, we're keeping an eye on the plane. the american airline 777 jet that will be carrying pope francis from washington up here to new york city, where he continues the rest of his really large trip to the united states, you know, lots of filled, packed days, in terms of the schedule. ron allen is joining us now. can you hear me? >> reporter: yes, how are you? >> i'm doing well how are you? >> reporter: i'm doing just fine. up here on the upper east side, it's -- i have to tell you, quite a journey to get here. i started down where you are, and all of streets stephanie was reporting are completely blocked off. up here similar story. we're done the street from the papal nuncio where the pope will spend the evening, townhouse down the street, you can see the flag through the tree there's over the townhouse. there are people starting to gather in the streets but we

don't expect the pope to be here until after mass at st. patrick's until some time later this evening. i suspect there will be people here all night trying to catch a glimpse. there's a moment where he may come here and greet the crowds. again, stop over there. you can see behind the people waving and heavy presence of police there might be opportunity where he might say hello or where you might be able to catch a glimpse of him. that's what so many people here are assembled, hoping for. but i can tell you, traveling around the city, it's very difficult. it's going to get even more difficult. tomorrow, of course, the big day where he is in new york, all day at the u.n., harlem on the upper west side. all over the city. so things will be more difficult then. but the mood is festive. the mood is celebratory. people want to catch a glimpse, and catch a blessing, if they can. >> right, right. i wonder, is it the same thing we saw in washington, ron, people are hoping that he'll

come and work the line and go up to the fence and shake hands, hoping for that moment? >> reporter: everybody, of course, is. but it's going to be difficult here in new york, at least in this area because, again, security, i have heard this may be the biggest security operation ever in the city, which is saying a lot, because in addition to the pope being here, you have the u.n. general assembly starting as well. so there are perhaps 150 or more world leader who are here as well, more than usual, because the pope is here, he will be there some time tomorrow morning. so just unprecedented situation here around new york. but again, it's a very different feel from -- it's a celebratory, very pleasant, it's very relaxed feel, if you can say that about a secure situation. again, walking around st. patrick's cathedral earlier today, people were just understanding this is what we have to do here in new york, these are times we live in. of course everybody's hoping

that this trip will be uneventful, in terms of security problems and so far, of course, it has been. but i expect they will be huge crowds up here as well, huge tourist area anyway. some of new york's finest museums around the corner, central park is right around the corner from the papal nuncio residence. there will be big crowds here perhaps all day tomorrow, hoping to catch a glimpse, and again tonight. he's expected to be here some time this evening, spend the night and i think the crowds will be here all night with him. >> not often enough, ron, we talk about joyous crowds in new york city. thanks. take a look at that plane. you see it we see it. it is on the move. >> luke, was there a delay in them leaving? >> you know, kate, we spent all of this time talking about how it was a normal airplane, it was an american airlines flight. well, it ran into a normal problem, that us who travel in the air are familiar with, they had a manifest issue a few

secret service agents added late to travel with the pope, they were not on the list they had at the front. they had to be checked off, cleared and make sure everything was all square. that's what caused a delay, i'd say 10, 15 minutes here on the tarmac to which they did not get up to go. now the plane is moving. engines fired up. it will take off here in five minutes, i am told. john kerry, secretary of state, walking off with the auxiliary bishops and cardinal wuerl greeting the crowd. even if you are pope francis, you still have to make sure your list lines up with what they have at the gate. >> a papal delay of flight. okay. well, we're glad to see they're moving again now. luke, thank you so much. this will be the end of that segment of the journey, doorry's this is wrapping up the washington, d.c., leg of this three-city tour. a lot of our experts and guest

as long the way have been saying they fully expect the pope will come back again to visit the united states, because we're very cognizant this is only an east coast true. >> that is true? >> the amtrak corridor, we call it, between washington, philadelphia, new york. and that's not really much for a pope who has never seen this country before. you have to wonder what it's like for him to be seeing all of this for the first time. he's literally never been to new york city. >> i know, an extraordinary thought, his first time he's going to see st. patrick's here, first time the streets of new york, first time of washington. you know there's an infectiousness, you were talking about joy, not just in the crowd but all of us talking about this. he talked yesterday in the homily about the need to fight apathy. what is apathy but listlessness, lack of emotion. i can't imagine he wouldn't want to come back and generate it again in came, some parts of the country. >> we take a look at american

airlines 777, taxiing for take-off. we mentioned there was a brief delay held them up a little because the manifest, list of passengers didn't match up with all of the people who had gotten on board the plane. of course secret service taking this trip incredibly seriously. wanted to make sure they had their is dotted and ts crossed before take-off. on the phone, former mayor of new york city, rudy giuliani. mayor? >> how are you? >> hi, i'm very well, thank you. we're taking a look, right now live pictures of the plane, about to take off from andrews air force base and fly to jfk. you have been through so many events here in new york city, mr. mayor. >> i had pope john paul come to new york when i was mayor. i remember greeting him at the heliport, one of the most exciting times moof mayoralty and he got to bless my two

children and ten that night, yankees won the playoffs game. >> that's just about the best day ever for you, then. second only to the birth of your children and marriage, right. >> of course. >> tell me a little bit about the security that we can expect here in new york. again, you've been through many, many occasions like this. unfortunately you went through 9/11. >> this comes at a dicht time for new york because this is the opening of the u.n. general assembly, which means that we have in new york, my goodness, 100, 120 heads of astate, deputy heads of state. generally these two weeks in september are what i describe as a security nightmare for the police commissioner. and the mayor. we always felt a great sense of relief when the u.n. general assembly was over and all went home. so all of these people have to be protected as well. people from countries where they

have terrorism. countries where there are insurrections you put on top of that protecting the pope, and thank goodness it's new york city police department that knows how to do this. along with the secret service and the fbi and all of the other agencies. they work very well together because we go through this so often. >> and yet, there's a part of me that gets nervous when i watch him wade into crowds. do you get nervous? >> it should. there was a part of me every time we went through one of these made me nervous. i remember president bush going out to throw out the first ball right after september 11 at yankee stadium. and i was so relieved when it was over and the president was back if his car, safely, on his way back to washington. this -- this two weeks were two of the worst week of being mayor of new york for me, because that

was back in the era of arafat and gadhafi and all of the people. >> right. yeah. >> we probably were dealing with a 500, 600 threats. you never know which are legitimate, which ones aren't. fortunately, new york has a police department, i'm not going to say they routinely handle something like this, but they almost routinely handle something like this. so people will be inconvenien d inconvenienced. they should realize every bit of it is necessary. it is not be overdone. it's not being done to bother them. it's being done because, god forbid, nobody wants anything to happen. you can never assure yourself against a crazy person, absolutely nutty -- we've seen that, right? even put terrorism a siside. just completely insane person. >> as we watch the plane taxi

for take-off here, mayor, it's hard to impress new yorkers. we're kind of a tough bunch. but this, this trip, talk about the excitement in this city. you live here. it's electric. >> it's -- it is. and look, whether you're a catholic proths, jewish, muslim, nonreligious there's an extremely holy and very, very good man whether you agree with everything he says or you don't, what he has in mind, is making human beings better, making the human condition better. you can tell he dedicated his whole life to that. having a man like that come to new york it's a blessing. it's a wonderful thing for the city. let's pause for a moment here, mr. mayor. i don't know if you can see. we're watching the american airlines jet about to take off and bring pope francis to new york.

>> you hear people saying, wheels up. it's in the air now. for about an hour for a flight from washington, outside d.c., joint base andrews, to john f. kennedy airport, outside manhattan in queens. and then he'll be taking a helicopter over to the island of manhattan and working his way up fifth avenue where the crowds are already gathering, and coming down to st. patrick's cathedral where we are near mid town. >> may giuliani, he will be visiting ground zero tomorrow.

your reflections on that? >> my wife and i, my wife judith and i are going tomorrow with governor pataki and his wife libby. george and i were partners through september 11 attack. both of us catholics and both of us prayed so much during that period of time and went to so many masses and funeral masses that i believe that the pope coming here will bless the museum and get us to start thinking about the goodness in people, because -- without crying, it does -- it's wonderful that we can have in the world. >> mr. mayor, we are getting about every other word. we're having a cell phone

connection problem. but i think we get the gist of what you're saying, happy to be meeting him tomorrow than will be such an important ceremony here at ground zero in new york city. as we await the arrival of pope francis, here in new york. we'll take a quick break. we'll be right back with more msnbc live. vo: today's the day.

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coverage of pope francis' visit to america. we just, a few minutes ago, watched this scene on left side of the screen, american airlines flight known as shepherd one, just taking off from joint andrews air force base outside washington, d.c. with the pope on board and making his way now

to new york city where he'll spend the next two days with a number of events on schedule but that was the departure moments ago. the pope is on his way. we expect that flight to take about an hour. we'll be monitoring air traffic control and watching that plane to land at jfk. breaking developments out of seattle, washington in another story. two people killed when a charter bus and amphibious vehicle, called the duck, collided on a bridge. right how to we can tell you that in addition to two were are dead, at least 21 people have been hurt, 9 of them critically. they've been taken to area hospitals. officials in seattle, washington, tell us that the aurora bridge, where this happened, around 11:15 local time that bridge is going to be closed for many, many hours. as they still work to clean up wreckage.

at this point, no word on a cause of the crash. >> as you can see a charter bus collided with one of these duck tour buses on the bus, 45 students and employees from north seattle college, confirming that they did have several dozen students and employees. we do not know who of the employees are injured or anything like that. again, taken to area hospitals. no word on a cause. the bridge is going to be shut down for many hours. amphibious tour vehicles have been involved in a few other crashes over the past year or so. this is something that will be looks at over at last 24 hours. these types of vehicles used, popular in seattle, washington, d.c., new york city has a number as well. amphibious vehicles used to take

tourists around the city. at this point, two dead, several dozen been taken to area hospitals. we'll continue to watch. >> those are older vehicles used in world war ii they repurpose to use for tourists. a tragic scene that we're looking at there thank you for bringing us up to speed on that? back to a happier story. top story all day today, pope francis expected to arrive here in new york city within the hour as we've been telling you. the papal visit one of the largest security operations ever in this city. parts of mid town manhattan, where i am, will be virtually shut down thanks to the pope and also, at the same time, the u.n. general assembly being held. i sat down with the nan charge of securing new york, police commercial bill bratton, and i started by asking him what his biggest concerns are. >> certainly everything happening in new york today, it will be the security of the pope himself and then the crowds that will be gathered for him.

what we worry about is the unknown. we certainly have done everything we can to gather intelligence, relative to any potential threats, nothing actionable, fortunately. but that doesn't allow us to let our guard down. we will be quite vigilant throughout this whole event. >> law enforcement authorities have said no credible threats. >> correct. >> here in new york or any of the cities the pope vitss. everybody's thinking in the back of their head when they see the pope get out of the popemobile, greet people, that's got to be a security nightmare for you. >> it's a catch 22 in the sense the spontaneity of that if somebody were planning an attack it disrupts their schedule. and at the same time the spontaneity that you never know a crowd surge, et cetera. so we've been watching closely events in washington, we spent a lot of time looking at videos from his travels around the world, trying to understand his habits and how he does things. i think secret service in

particular which has principal responsibility for his personal security as well as event, we've got our act together and prepared for anything. >> how do you keep the largest city in the country operational while also managing, not just the pope but you have 170 world leaders in in. >> 90% of the leaders of the world are in the three-square mile of manhattan over the next several days we have a concert with beyonce, central park, saturday night for 100,000 people. we have a couple of baseball teams playing quite well. 35,000 cops. we have the resources to do it. ironically, outside of manhattan, rest of new yorkers will -- >> untouched. >> as if nothing's happening. >> for people who want to come, people have come in all over the country, security will be what? will everyone have to go through magnetometer to get toward the area? >> the benefit of the area, many

moving parts every event is a secure venue, you to have a ticket. go through screenings to get in. >> you know who's there. >> if he decides in a spontaneous manner to get out and work the line, as we saw this morning, that we know everybody in that line has been screened initially. so that's a great benefit to us, from a security standpoint. there will be others that will seek to be along the line of his motorcades and unsecured areas -- >> is that allowed. >> yes, in the sense he moves around, there's no ability to keep the crowds back from the highways, they're at a distance and motorcades are moving at a pretty good speed but those that just for that brief glimpse of that very distinguishable fiat moving along, that i anticipate that will have tens of thousands of people along the streets where he'll be traveling. >> central park, a big moment. >> for us the biggest venue event. it will have 80,000 to 100,000, as me moves around central park,

my sense is that would be area that would most likely have the spontaneity of wanting to stop and greet other events, pretty timed and pretty structured. central park is the looser event. >> are you excited about this on a personal level? >> this is my third pope visit. as a young lieutenant in boston 1978 i had to write the plan for the pope's visit in 1978. in 1995 i had the pleasure as commissioner back then to oversee pope security in the u.n. 50thanniversary. professionally for you in your world, this is as big as it gets for a challenge, excitement, joy, joy is a word that's been associated with this event. why not enjoy it? what's not to enjoy? >> enjoy the next several days. thank you so much for your time. >> thank you. >> commissioner bill bratton here in new york city talking with us about security.

the next leg of the trip. joining me now is jim nicholson, former ambassador to the u.s. to the vatican, former rnc chair. thanks for being with us. >> thanks for having me. >> as we watched the plane go from washington, to new york, and reflect back on the past 48 hours in your city, in washington, d.c., what do you think the trip has meant for the nation's capital, for the politicians who work there? >> u think it was a real big spiritual uplift. it went off very smoothly. everybody did a terrific job in washington. they're breathing a deep, deserved sigh of relief as i saw that plane take off. but i think it was, you know, capped today by his speech to the joint session of a congress which was -- which was a very high tonal spiritual talk. and the thing i like so much was

that he -- he complimented america, complimented the united states and affirmed our value system. land of the free, home of the brave. people who look after their own and enhance dignity and create opportunities and freedom. so he was -- he was affirming our value system. he was just telling us to keep with it, do better, do more, because more is needed. but he wasn't being prescriptive what it is we should believe that we don't or what it that is we should be doing. and i think he hit just the right note with that. and that's who he is. he's the most iconic, spiritual person probably on earth. he has a powerful moral megaphone. and he has listened to. it's incredible the effect that he's had on this city and as i've witnessed it in the last

couple of days. >> on the issue of immigration, i wonder, we've had a couple of democratic congressmen on the last couple of hours here on msnbc, saying that they see a window with what the pope said today. from your vantage point as a republican, do you see a window here? could there be cooperation on that issue? >> i hope there is. i mean we have an immigration problem in this country, there's no question about it. and the pope urged us to do more, to cooperate. recognizing that we are a land of immigrants. we're a country of the rule of law and we have a system for immigration. he was not asking us to deviate from that system. i think he was asking us to realize how desirable hour country is for people to come here and to have the freedom and the opportunity and the chance to flourish as a person and as a family. and we know that. that's why so many people want

to come here. i think that there is room for a compromise, improvement in our immigration system and dealing with those people who are now here. so maybe this will be the, you know, spiritual jolt that is needed. >> i know you've been watching, as he deparred from joint air force base joint base andrews, we saw secretary kerry, secretary of state, having a -- looked like a deep conversation with the pope as he was about to depart. do you see this pope potentially continuing to mediate and work between nations to help solve some of our biggest international problems? >> i've talked to several members of the -- he is willing to play that role and to use his unique office, if it is and can be useful. yes, i think -- i think he

represents potential partner of ours and some of the difficult diplomatic challenges that we have. >> jim nicholson, former u.s. ambassador to the vet can, thanks for being with us. >> it's a pleasure. >> let me go to the streets of new york city, just below us here, we're up on a rooftop, claudio is down on the street level in front of st. patrick's cathedral. claudio, what's the mood like down there? i can only imagine how excited people are getting. >> you can see probably behind me the few people that got the honor of standing in front on the step of st. patrick's cathedral. you can see to my left, probably, people wearing workers yellow safety vests. now those are the people, many of the workers who have been working on renovation of st. patrick's cathedral now renovation that cost $174 million. they finished it ahead of schedule because of the pope's arrival. look at the result.

it looks like brand new, just ready for the pope to arrive. and of course, given alongside many donors who made that renovation possible, some of the people who will be able to see and meet and greet the pope up close and personal. a lot of people to my right lining up fifth avenue. of course, fifth avenue's closed down from the 6 to 48. there's a lot of people lining up, hoping to catch a glimpse of the pope. let me tell you, i've been following pope around the world for a long time now. but in terms of security, as far as security goes, i've never seen anything like. the area around st. patrick's, as stephanie gosk was saying, completely locked down. we had to come here four hours earlier to get past the security which is managed by the secret service and nobody is beyond suspicious. i've seen a number of nuns from the sisters of charity orders patted down by the secret

services. nobody's beyond suspicion here. >> even nuns being patted down for security reasons. thank you so much. interesting for people not -- not from new york city, he said from 60th to 48th street on 5th avenue shut down. that's a lot of blocks mid town manhattan close down on a thursday afternoon. thanks so much. we'll talk a quick break and await the arrival of pope francis in new york. like i sweat money.

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we are rejoining live coverage here, awaiting pope francis' arrival in new york city. he took off minutes ago from joint base andrews in washington, and is expected to land some time next hour at jfk airport outside manhattan. but he already had a busy day in washington, d.c. it began with greeting children who had gathered outside the apostolic nunciature where he was staying, left for capitol hill, a meeting with house speaker john boehner before entering house chamber to speak to member of congress. pope francis, the first pope to address joint meeting of congress. the pope visited congress'

statstat statue errey hall. and next greeted the crowd of some 50,000 people, assembled outside the congress, from the speaker's balcony. >> thank you. thank you very much. god bless america. >> next up, a visit to st. patrick's church in new york city, where the pope spoke about -- forgive, me in washington -- where he spoke about ending homelessness and walked outside to bless a meal for the needy for homeless people, surrounded by a crowd. he ended the blessing there with this -- >> enjoy your meal. >> all of that, before the pope left for the -- before the pope left the capital city. now headed to his next leg of the visit in new york city. liz levv is an art historian who lives in rome. you've been here watching all day. we've seen the pope going into

crowds, shaking hands, taking selfies. is this the same pope you see in rome or is there a difference? >> this is the pope of rome. this is the pope who spends during wednesday audiences more time driving around in the square, embracing people, looking what i love to see the camera in back of him. when you see the feed from the camera in back of him, the pope is always scanning the crowd, looking for the person who needs him, the person who is looking for him. it's been -- it's st. peter's square on steroids today. >> talking about lunchtime, with a group of people who are homeless, who don't have homes, and then he's going to be visiting children, visit a school in harlem tomorrow. he tends to look out for those who need the most. >> a big part of this pope's message has been that word "peripheries" that he likes so much, people who are marginalized, people who don't fit into mainstream society. rome, we've seen him making a first-person approach at the

vatican, sending out the chirt guide to meet with homeless, building showers in vatican city state, a place to restore their dignity. this is francis. francis looks for people who seem the furthest out and tries to bring them into the fold. >> a part of this trip, liz, for him to build up the church here in the united states and perhaps welcome more parishioners back to the church? some churches, membership is quite down right now. >> you know, i think the pope's message, i think the message is two things. one is, he said today, he used a phrase for romans means a lot. he called himself a builder of bridges. that is the title of the pope, one of the titles we see all over the city of rome, the great bridge builder. and i think he's here to build bridges, to build bridges, yes, to catholic whose may have fallen away from the church but also people searching for god's mercy, his second point here, is this idea of mercy, this idea of

reconciliation, forgiveness and starting anew. >> liz, levv, art historian joining us for this historic journey. thank you so much. >> thank you. we'll take a break. as we await the pope's arrive until new york city. one more quick break. you total your brand new car. nobody's hurt,but there will still be pain. it comes when your insurance company says they'll only pay three-quarters of what it takes to replace it. what are you supposed to do, drive three-quarters of a car? now if you had liberty mutual new car replacement, you'd get your whole car back. i guess they don't want you driving around on three wheels. smart. with liberty mutual new car replacement, we'll replace the full value of your car. see car insurance in a whole new light. liberty mutual insurance. and sleep deprived. bring us those who want to feel well rested. aleve pm. the only one to combine a sleep aid...

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headed. right now he's in the air. st. patrick's cathedral where he'll be presiding over catholic mass. this city is ready. you know, in a week of incredible images already, one image that really stands out was for pope francis earlier today on the balcony of the capitol, u.s. capitol, in front of 50,000 people waving and cheering. an emotional john boehner to the right of him and vice president biden clapping along. in that sea of people out there, two students who were invited by speaker boehner and saw the pope's blessing with us now. ma lady, bilingual fourth grade student in northwest washington, d.c., and samuel merga, 11th grader archbishop carol until northeast d.c. welcome to you both. thank you. >> thank you for having us. >> kind of a big day for you. what was it like to be out

there. i imagine you had to skip school to be there. must have been something else. look at you. >> yeah. it was so fun. >> can you describe for me what it felt like, samuel, to be there? >> it was emotional and very touching the way the pope, you know, tells the people who he would like to see us be doing and -- >> yeah. and you were in -- there were a lot of people out there, right? was there kind of an energy in the crowd? >> yeah, alive. >> tell me about what it felt like to be there. that's what we can't see in pictures. >> i mean, everybody had -- everybody was cheerful, energetic, and everybody was proud that the pope was in d.c. and you can feel the happiness going around with the clapping and cheering.

>> malady you go to a catholic school, fourth grade? >> yes. >> does this pope make you want to go to church even more? >> yes, a lot. >> a lot? what is it about him for a kid? what is it about him that you find really cool? >> i find that he's cool because, well, he's -- he's a leader of the church and he helps the poor and he feeds them and he's just amazing because he follows god's footprints. >> malady and sam sul, glad you had a wonderful day today. thank for joining us. >> thank you very much. >> thank you for having us. >> thank you for joining us as well. while there are a lot of dignitaries here in new york

city, it was just announced that vice president joe biden and first lady michelle obama will also be here in new york, attending global citizens festival this saturday. watch that here on msnbc. brian williams picks up our special live coverage right now. >> kate snow, thanks. we'll be checking back in with you on fifth avenue, as our broadcast progresses. and let us set the scene at this hour, this is what we're expecting right now. pope francis is airborne. he was delayed on departure, joint base andrews in suburban maryland by 14 minutes there was actually a dispute over the manifest having to do with secret service agents whose name weren't on the manifest to fly. all resolved. american airlines 777 took off. it in the air. that's the crowd waiting at kennedy airport in new york. from there, he will board one of the helicopters that has