rist, the eucharist, a tangible sign. we here his voice and we see his gestures of reaching owl to people. if way we experience god, to use his term again it's an encounter with our prayer and sacrament. he is making it real for people. he is making our faith real. god's presence in a real way. greta: to elaborate on that, you are absolutely right, father. even in the language he uses. this morning once again, when he was speaking at st. matthews to the bishop and the other dignitaries there. he made reference to the clergy sex abuse scandal and the victims of that. he said the word "crime."

everybody goes finally. >> he said the word "gay" versus homosexual. he uses the words of the people. people feel like he is real and connected. leon: we are getting closer to the people there and the crowd there. boy, suzanne, this is beginning to build up in anticipation, isn't it? suzanne: this is excellent. people are really enjoying what is going on here. let me tell you what we saw. we saw the pope come right down the roadway here. a pathway here at catholic university. he went from one end to the other. everybody in this big area in the outdoor sanctuary if you will headed directly across from the front to the back. watched him go by. then he turned around and came back by so people on the other side of the aisle if you will, can see him. people had their phones in the air. some people holding on to rosaries in their hands to get

a messing of a very -- blessing of a very important religious icon. folks enjoying this. so happy, several people i saw wiping away tears as the holy father passed through the area. one of the best things about that, all the people in standing room only seat got a chance to see him as well. they have been standing all day long and got to see the pope. back to you. alison: so exciting. it's interesting the convergence of the formal when you see the bishops in their robes and hat. then you have people with their phone trying to get a picture of the pope. and i'm curious what you think about both of these things coming together. father tom: the convergence happens amongst the bishops. as much as they are dressed and ready for mass in the investment and the formality, if you watch them carefully they are pulling their phones out, too. they want to get a picture with the pope. if we go to the idea that pope

francis is somebody who brings the religious experience to people's lives in ways they can relate to, that is what we are seeing here. leon: let me ask you again. you mentioned what they were wearing. we watch the pope walking up. cardinal wuerl there who is his official host while he is here in washington. cardinal still wearing black. we noticed that earlier before you were sitting down. bishops who were filing in were all wearing white. can you explain the difference to us? father tom: sure. what cardinal wuerl is wearing is a cassack. he is wearing it but he will put on the other investment for mass as will pope francis. the investments for mass that -- the vestment for mass, cardinal wuerl will put them on. it's an alb, a white robe to remind us of the baptism. the priests and the byships wear it at the mass.

they are all wearing white as the outer garment. the outer vestment. they will all wear a scarf that goes around the net as a simple of the office in the -- symbol of the office in the church. they are all priests. white is the color today worn on the feast day when we honor father serra who will be canonized a saint. it's a color worn to celebrate feasts in honor of the saints that lived holy lives but didn't necessarily die as a martyr. if it's martyr the color of the day is red to remember the blood we shed in witness to their faith. they will wear the outer garment. it's white for the color of the day in honor of the saint, father serra. leon: so you give us a sense of what is going on? are they heading to do the vesting to change? father tom: the bishop, priests, deacons who

participate in mass vested earlier and they are in their places. pope francis and cardinal wuerl will vest and prepare for mass. the mass will begin when we have the opening hymn and the procession with pope francis. cardinal wuerl, the bishop of the local diocese and the other deacons and the priests will be part of it. leon: i have to ask as risk of being crazy here, i look at a moment. everyone is outside. crowd assembled. right now the pope is backstage preparing himself. this strikes me as the moment before a big football game, before a super bowl. they are in the locker room now. trying to get sort of the game face on if you will, to get his mind and his heart and the spirit in tune with what he is about to do. what takes place in that moment? trying to psyche himself up? greta: he is praying. leon: that is how you do it. father tom: what pope francis doing now is what every priest does before mass. focus on what we are about to

do, the greatest prayer that the church has, the eucharist, worshiping god to bring the needs of all god's people to the time of prayer. alison: i imagine does this become routine? he gets this greeting wherever he travels. is that not the case? this is big for us. father tom: it's never routine for pope francis and celebrating the mass is never routine. at this time we celebrate the mass on easter or on an ordinary weekday this is tremendous to offer this prayer of god to behalf of the people. leon: if that's how you feel, it's hard to imagine how it must feel to do that every single time as the pope. you know? you look at it as though you have this many spiritual lives resting in the balance of everything you are about to say and do, and evening you are about to reference. it's -- everything you are about to reference. it's one thing with a local

parish number where you have a couple of hundred people looking to you for the guidance and support. but for him, you feel that way, you feel the pressure when you are doing it at your level. is it possible, difficult to imagine, what it must be like for him to do it. father tom: we saw his appreciation when we was elected pope and he came out on the balcony of st. peters and the first thing he said was nothing. he just took it all in. he looked out at the world and became aware of the fact that he was the pastor of all of god's people. alison: this is remarkable. listen in for a minute and step back. watch the reaction to the people and the crowd. [singing]

father tom: the young men and women who are looking for religious life and yet to take the final vows. these are the people whose enthusiasm is among the greatest on church. they are on fire for the love of god to give their life to god in service to the church. now they have been given the privilege to remember the memory of the day, celebrating the mass of pope francis as part of their formation on the day when they become priest and brothers and sisters. they will never forget it. greta: they will be inside the basilica even though the pope is inside. they can watch it on the jumbo tran. leon: how special is that to begin your washington as a priest or as a nun? it starts with a moment like this. father tom: exactly. alison: if you can walk us through what is happening. greta: he is blessing the crowd. father tom: he is yet to be fully vested and ready for mass but he is meeting the seminarians and those preparing to take vows for the

religious life. he is blessing them and in his way allowing them to know they have a special place in their heart. in their young lives and people preparing for religious vocation. it's typical of pope francis to touch the lives of every person who encounters wherever they may be on the spiritual journey. whether they be at the elementary school skids this this -- elementary school kids or those preparing for a lay of service or the elderly. greta: for folks who aren't catholic especially you hear a lot that this is a strategic thing. the election of this man as pope, what he is doing and what he is saying. strategic or something more at work? father tom: i would say there is something more at work. we look at his election as the work of the holy spirit. our church is a church that

believes in reincarnation. we speak of jesus as both god and man. he has a human and a divine nature. here pope francis is praying before the blessed sacrament for mass. greta: is that cardinal wuerl on his right? leon: the blessed sack rament in the chapel -- sarah meant in the chapel. he is having a private prayer. father tom: part of the preparation is take the sacrament in the tabernacle we saw there. that is the bread that was

consecrated at the previous mass that is now the body of christ, the presence of christ in the midst of the church and the basilica. a unique way that pope francis recognizes the christ in his life. this is part of celebrating mass this afternoon. he was with cardinal wuerl and monsignor rossi, director of the basilica. now he will go across the main altar from the blessed sacrament chapel to put on the vesting for mass and go forward from there. saying about the election of the pope, we looked at jesus and human and divine nature, that is true of the church. the church is holy because the holy spirit dwells within the church. it's made up of human beings, too. we are all part of the church in our humanity. the college of the cardinals that elected the pope are all human beings. we believe that their decisions were guided by the holy spirit. i don't think he is elected unanimously. but i think that reflects in their prayers some of

cardinals chose one person and the others chose the other. the rules for an election was such that thaw you have to have an overwhelming majority to elect the pope. to be sure that the decision is more inspired by the holy spirit and the divine origin than the human election, straw poll if you call it that. greta: unlike secular political elections where guys desperately want the office of president or whatever, it's my understanding that pope francis and other popes have almost hesitated to take this on. it's like okay, if this is god's will i'll do it. but please, no. father tom: in a sense you go to a conclave and a cardinals and they don't know who will come out as pope or who will put on the white robes. tall man, small man? somebody in between? there is a room called the room of tears where they have the white cassock in three sizes, small, medium and

large. it's a room of tears because the one who puts on the vestige for the first time is overwhelmed with awe. before they walk and realize what they are assuming, the role of pastor of the universal church. leon: this is awe-inspiring to me watching this video from inside this beautiful basilica. we don't get a chance to see this very often on television. that is for sure. greta: that is actually the figure of christ there is actually mosaic. there are thousands and thousands of tiny little bits. there are many of those all over the basilica. mosaics that are incredible. father tom: the other thing about the basilica is a wonderful expression of the universality of the church. it's named in honor of our lady, basilica of the shrine of the immaculate conception. that is one title of mary. each nationality has a way to

honor mary. for example in mexico, the patrons of mexico is the lady of guadalupe. there is a shrine of the lady of guadalupe. every nationality has its way to honor the mother of god. each nationality has its own title for the mother of god. there is a place for that cultural expression within one building. god's people is a diversity of people for every land and nation. unique way that the culture honor the lady in this church. leon: this is conveyed in all the theology. alison: let's head out now to jonathan elias who is there still at the theological college across the street. jonathan, i understand you have someone there to speak with. jonathan: i do, alison. i'm with father ez.eka with the vatican. he travels the the pope. you con conley -- con

congratulated him after he was elected. tell me about the trip. >> this was a man who didn't like to travel on foreign trips. he left argentina rarely and surprised the daylights out of all of us. after being elected two and a half years ago there were major trips that were significant. going to cuba first. arriving for the first time at age 78 in the united states yesterday. can ii can only imagine what hes thinking at the foot of the stairs at the airport. the president and the vice president of the united states of america, soldiers, oh honor guard and everything else. a simple man from argentina a pastor walking among barios and the poor and suddenly sees this. this morning watching his face, the awe at the white house. but in spite of all of that he treats everybody the same. that is the beauty of pope francis. simplicity, authenticity, intelligence, and savvy. hences how to do it. jonathan: you forget energy. 78 years old. in the next five days he has

20 speeches to give. in cuba and the united states. how does he keep up with it? >> on top of that, when he gets back, four days later, starts the bishops which is important gathering of the pope who presides over 450 bishops and delegates. it's a tense month. serious month of work. he will have maybe 72 hours to do the laundry and put his feet up for a bit. jonathan: so as we watch the pope in church change to the vestment. he is not slowing down. everybody around him is exhausted. >> he is going on the energy of somebody else. i believe in the election in sistine chapel and receives the election of a world religion. there is a surge of emergency on high for the holy spirit. he is going on god's grace.

hi said he knows he won't be around for a long time. at age 78. he is making the best of the time given to us and this is the right man for the right moment in history and god has given him not only to catholic church but as we are seeing this is the gift of humanity. the strongest moral leader in the world right now. >> so many people asked this question of so many experts and so many pundits out there, what is it about this pope that seems to be transforming or opening up to catholic church in ways we haven't seen ever? father: the first is the smile and the second is authenticity. this is a man of god. prophetic figure call up to be better angels than we've been. he is calling us to take care of the world of the creation of other people. he is speaking our language. this is not to say that pope john paul ii or pope benedict didn't speak our language. we have been blessed with holy good popes in the last 200 years but god sent this one along to make sure we got the

vocabulary and the language. when he speaks, simple and profound words i watch people, they sit there and say yeah, that is -- he is speaking to me. that is my language. we has a wond everiful create five use of -- wonderful creative use of language. he has expressions with the argentinean, italian missed in and the beaming smile. that can cut through anything. so this is a wonderful human being. intelligent leader. pastor, a shepherd. and someone who has been deeply touched with poverty and suffering. that is why he understands humanity so well. jonathan: talk about what we are setting the stage for. the canonization mass, elevation from man to saint or junipero serra. this is a man with one miracle. norm it will it -- normally it takes two. pope francis fast tracked this. why is this happening? >> since he assumed the role of pope as successor to peter he is rearranging and reforming the structure of the church. he is looking at some of the

saints. some blessed. some have been blessed for several hundred years. it hasn't moved forward. but there is a doe investigation to this person -- devotion to this person. and he wants to raise the miracle. junipero serra the franciscan that came here in the 1700's, he brought the gospel here. all kind of controversy that people say about him. we remember that the beatification is not the mark of perfection. the first requirement to be a saint is to be a sinner. you have to be sinners. if you come in looking like holy joe and an angel, i ain't done nothing wrong, don't apply for sainthood. if we recognize we are sinners and ask for forgiveness over and over again there is a good chance for us to be saints. i think by elevating junipero serra we are able to look at the positive things he did to bring the gospel to native people.

there are methods but we judge in the 21st century we think in our age we would never do that. maybe in that age it was not the same severity with which we judge it now. it doesn't not to say that junipero serra didn't have blind spots. there were sins or difficulties. by no means. canonization is the declaration of holiness. this person lived a unique relationship with god. and by doing that, he lived in a very good relationship with other people. jonathan: we are watching pictures from inside the church. this is huge. it's filled with seminarians and the young preses stud -- young priests studying. this is their first opportunity to see the holy father. how big of a day is this for them? >> it's big for everybody. this is the largest church in north america. not a parish church. it's dedicated to the immaculate conception. this is also a basilica so it has a special status as a

church. many people around us in theological schools, dominican house of studies, theological college of the national seminary. all the young people studying here for priesthood take courses at catholic university. the catholic university of america is the university owned by the bishops of the country. premier university on which sits a beautiful church and basilica. the seminarians -- and young women, there are houses of formation of young nuns. one of the few places you come to the united states you can say the church is alive and young. they are running around and happy. i saw the rehearsals last night. i was here till midnight watching everybody involved. pope francis elicited joy. he brings out the best in us. this is a cause for celebration. we have been through tough times. pope said to the bishops today in the wonderful address we have had some dark years. now it's time -- jonathan: he doesn't mind talking about that. he confronts it. he doesn't dodge it. >> we do the truth in charity.

name the problem, we have to rectify the problems. we must go forward. he is going to say in the homily soon for junipero serra that one of his models of the saint of the franciscan. it's always go forward. go ahead. go ahead. pope says don't get stuck in your story. don't cling to a past you never know. you are not victims of nostalgia. we must go forward as missionary disciple. that is a keyword of francisco. he brings the dynamism of the latin american church of argentina. he is in his own element when he is among the latin americans. today this mass will be in his language. it will be beautiful to hear him speak. he spoke in english this morning at the white house. jonathan: he doesn't like english. >> some people wrote it and said this is the beginning of the miracle. there is great progress. he understands it but he is afraid to make errors but i must give him credit. he spoke very well. slow. he spoke slow enough it made you think and it made you listen. he will give the homily today.

i believe the homily is in spanish. the rest of the visit he has the great talk to the capitol at the special session of congress. the main address in new york. jonathan: he speaks italian and a number of languages. is he working on becoming a better english speaker? is that a goal? >> he has taken lessons. there are people helping him. the young priest with him now, father mark miles a priest working in the vatican as the secretary of state, wonderful, a gentle presence. the pope considers him a good interpreter and teacher. when you are in francis' presence he brings out the best in people. he wants you to be a better person. very much at home with the poor, with street people. with prisoners, with everybody. for many people this is what the good shepherd did. this is what jesus was.

this is very easy for him to bring us back to the source, to the core of who we are. jonathan: talk about the shrine, too. it's a magnificent facility. i was under the assumption that people lived in the area that was their church. not the case. they have 81 chapels, soon to have 100 chapels which means 81 different languages are spoken to conduct mass. >> there is a difference between a shrine and a parish church. many of the people in the neighborhoods here, the residents down the street here, they would consider coming to mass on sundays. there are masses at all hours of day on weekend and weekdays. but this isn't the normal parish church. a shrine is a special place of pilgrimage for people. bigger place to handle the big crowds. the mass for the march through life is here with thousands of kids. big celebrations like today. the pope is coming out now. there are other national celebrations this isn't the parish church. in a big shrine like this you lose the intimacy of people. jonathan: what are we seeing?

>> we are seeing the pope coming out of the changing room to make his way out of this into the side foyer to enter in procession. for the mass of canonization. we have a number of priests working with him. the chief of police of the vatican next to him is the swiss guard in civilian clothes. some of the civilians working in the papal household. the men with the minors, pointed happen are the bishops. you will -- pointed hats are the bishops. you lu see all the bishops today with whom he met at the cathedral. jonathan: an interesting message. part of the speech is get out there, i want you to talk not just to your knock but talk to people you don't normally talk to. >> use the language of mercy. no time for harsh language, i want you to speak too people's hearts. he gave instructions on what people should do, what bishops should do to prepare young men

for the priesthood. he also said bishops have to be fathers to their people. look at this. gorgeous. jonathan: at some point we'll cut this off to listen to the choir. the last question i have for you. we need to end this. does he still sneak out of the vatican for the midnight pizza? >> he never did and never will. jonathan: father, thank you so much. i appreciate you taking the time. leon and alison, back to you. leon: we like you are ready to watch and listen as the pope now is making his way there to the eastern east portico. crowd of 25,000 people. alison: father, if you could tell us what has changed here? he has added items. father tom: over what pope francis wore in the basilica, a cassock, he has add underneath it the vestment i spoke of earlier. this is a white robe to remind us how the baptism and how we

put on christ and became disciples and followers of jesus. hopefully his mind and his heart as we all baptized christian seek to be followers. that is the symbolism that the pope would wear on every occasion. what you can't see is the stole, the scarf around his neck and hangs down in front of him. that would be the color white. and he is also wearing vestment overall if others. white is the symbol of saints who are witnesses to the faith, great confessors of the fate but didn't die as martyrs. it would be red if that was the color of the day. the hat they take off, the mitor was originally worn by priests in the old testament. the book of leviticus. it has it worn as the high priest to a reminder how the priest and every religion. judaism and christianity and offer a sacrifice. that is why the bishop who is

the high priest in our christian understanding wears that hat which is reminiscent of the vestment worn by the priests of the old testament. the skull cap he is wearing underneath that he is still wearing even at the hat was taken off is a head covering that the bishop traditionally wear, the color indicates the person who is wearing it. white being the color for the pope. the cardinals wear a red skull cap. that indicates that the cardinals have chosen from among all the bishops to be the special coworkers with the pope. and again, that red is a sign of blood, willingness to be so close to the pope and the mission of the church they are willing to be martyrs themselves if called upon to be witness to our faith. all of the other bishops were there with the hat but underneath is a skull cap they wear is a purple color. it is a sign of the dignity as the bishop, the leader of the church. finally, the vestment he is wearing around his neck is

called a palyium, symbol of the the authority of the archbishop. cardinal wuerl wears that when he is celebrating mass here at the archdiocese of washington. or bishops of the ecclesiastic al. the archdiocese of baltimore would wear it when he celebrates mass. greta: i can interrupt real quick. incense is a catholic thing. father tom: it is catholic but it has origin in judaism and the sacrifices offered in the temple. it's a sacrifice and made holy from the offering. it's a sign of prayers going up for god. leon: here is the first.

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[speaking spanish] translator: the holy mother church, your holiness. know that he may be invoked as such. by all the christian faithful.

junipero serra was born in 1713. he entered the order of the franciscans when he was young. and he was ordained as a priest in 1737. he was a professor of philosophy at the university and he had the reputation of being a great teacher and preacher. in the whole of mallorca. by the end of 1740, he offered to leave his native country because he felt that he, he

felt that he should be a missionary in the new world. he spent eight years in the rugged region in mexico but he preached to the pame indians. during part of that time, he was superior of the five franciscan missions in the region. later on he held several post posts. for another eight years had the seat of the franciscan missions in mexico city. during that time, he preached in a great number of domestic missions in many areas of mexico. in 1767, he was elected

superior of the group of franciscans designated to replace the jesuits that had been expelled from their missions in lower california. two years later, he joined the expedition to extend the spanish border northward and to occupy upper california. from 1769 until his death in 1784, he was the superior of the franciscan missions in upper california. during his tenure as superior, nine missions were founded along the california coastline

involving several indigenous group including the comiaye, alone, salinan, hicheman and the shumash. serra endeavored to bring together to mission campus the indigenous people that inhibited nearby. he hoped to share with them slowly and in a voluntary fashion the tenets of catholicism. he would often fight the military leadership of the best ways to interact with the indigenous individuals. he once even travel told the mexican capitol to personally

persuade the viceroy to have a military commander dismissed. thousands of indigenous people were confirmed and baptized during serra's tenure in california. although many perished as a result of the spanish incursion in the area. serra made a great number of missionary trips to california. serra then was based during the hard travels until the very end of his life. despite illnesses and physical ailments that he had and that

exhausted his fortitude. he died on august 28, 1784. at the san carlos mission in carmel. he was beatified by saint john paul ii on september 25, 1988.

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♪ translator: most holy father in the name of the holy church i thank your holiness for making this proclamation and humbly request that you decree that the apostolic letter that about the t act of canonization be drawn up. [applause]

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♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ leon: this has been fascinating to watch and listen to it. unfortunately we haven't been able to get all of it in with the english translation. father tom, in a nutshell can you tell us what we have been witnessing here? father tom: sure. what we witnessed first of all was cardinal wuerl, the bishop

of the local church in washington making the appeal to pope francis to add the name of father serra to the role of saints to be honored by the church. his life given to us as a witness or example of what it means to be disciple of jesus. in father serra's case a great zeal for evangelism, spreading the gospel and converts for christ. what followed that is a litany of the saints, a prayer that the church offers where the saints are named. it was followed each invocation of the saint with the prayer "pray for us." to remind us that the saints are examples. following that, pope francis gave a formal declaration after the investigation of the holiness of his life it was deemed that father serra is worthy of that honor, be counted among the saints whom we should honor, imitate and pray to as members of our church. finally we saw relics presented. physical remains of father

serra that will be honored and not worshiped in the way we'd worship god or celebrate the sacrament but physical reminder of the saints. we believe his soul is in hen. but a -- soul is in heaven. leon: where do you think they will ultimately land? father tom: i don't know for sure but my hunch is they would be find home and be venerated on a regular basis in one of the mission churches that father serra founded along the coast of california. anywhere from beginning in san diego to up north even of san francisco. he founded missions churches in california. alison: we want to remind everyone this is the first time this has happened in the united states, right? a canonization mass like this. father tom: right. usually the canonization of saints has traditionally taken place in rome. so i remember when i was a child growing up in new york,

one of the saints we are excited about her canonization was st. elizabeth ann seton. the first person born in the united states who was canonized a saint. people growing up in new york we remembered that she grew up in new york. she was certainly a saint we were excited about her canonization. but that took place in rome. pope paul vi was pope at the time. >> let us pray. [pope speaking spanish]

it is my great honor and privilege to welcome you to the united states of america. >> the building of society. >> the holy father is the vicker of christ. >> he came here today. common person like we are.

>> i asked him if i could get a hug and he said only if you pray a rosary for it. i said of course. ♪ ♪ leon: right in out at 5:00 d right now at 5:00, history being made at the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception. pope is canonization junipero serra. a wonderful ceremony which just completed. alison: that is right. abc7 has team coverage of the historic moment. the pope's first full day here in washington. a busy, busy day it has been. jonathan elias is leading our coverage atop the theological college watching this unfold as we are. jonathan? jonathan: everything about today has been history in the making and picturesque. perfect weather. so many people came out. no chaos, no confusion. thousands of people flocked