>> 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 to the basilica to get a chance

to see the pope and perhaps take part in today's mass. that mass will go on, if you want to see it in the entirety we are simulcasting it uninterrupted on newschannel8. here on abc7 we want to cover the news of the day and talk about what is happening with the pope. so many people came out to see him, they did get a chance. but let's start the coverage with suzanne kennedy. she is inside grounds of the basilica where the mass is currently underway. suzanne, very exciting day. suzanne: we have 25,000 people who are gathered for the first canonization mass in washington, d.c. they started gathering early at 4:30 this morning and they have seen history made with the canonization of junipero serra, a very exciting time. you could see the enthusiasm on cardinal wuerl's face as he read the letter to the pope in regard to junipero serra. such an exciting time for catholics in washington, d.c. who got to see the momentous

occasion. there was joy on the faces of many as they watched this happen here today. people now paying close attention to the mass and continuing to soak in the glory that is pope francis. back to you. jonathan: thank you very much. it's a day that so many people waited a long time for. the planning that went into, the security that went into it, so far, knock on wood, it's gone flawlessly. it has been a busy schedule for the pope. he got up and left the vet can embassy and went to the white house. he had a pomp and circumstance greeting from the president and so many dignitaries. there was the military bands. everybody came out and showed the best color they could for the pope. he is a humble man. for everybody who knows him and talks about him he would almost be more excited to see the buildings and all of this is overwhelming for him.

he did greet those out at the white house in english, a language he has been practicing. after that came the parade. so many people would line the route. a short parade but on the parade route something special happened. a young girl jumped over the bars and started to run toward the pope mobile. she was quickly stopped bill security. then security turned the little girl around and carried her out to the pope and he gave her a hug and a kiss. one of those moments, there have been more than a few. continuing ourer -- our coverage. we go back to you and we'll stay at the basilica to continue to monitor the mass. there is the scene i talked about with the pope and the pope mobile. back to you. leon: yeah, that was one really electric moment this morning during the parade there between the white house and the mall. a wonderful moment there. the little girl was persistent. she hung in there and got a chance to touch the pope get a hung and a kiss and deliver the letter and the flag as well. alison: a reminder as well if you would like to watch the

mass in the entirety, it is airing on the sister station newschannel8. we will dip in and out so you can see what is happening and we will carry the pope's homily live. so you can watch that as well. newschannel8 has coverage. leon: the mass itself has now really begun. what we were watching up until the moment at the top of the hour essentially was the canonization portion of the mass which has been completed. we will keep our ears tuned to that. in the meantime, pope francis started his day with a visit to the white house where there were so many people there that president obama joked his lawn isn't normally so packed. abc7's jeff goldberg was out there among the crowd. jeff: it was an amazing scene at the white house. picture perfect day where thousands of people packed the south lawn of the white house eager to hear the message for the man known as the people's pope. more than 11,000 people packed the lawn of the white house which was a dismay of pomp and circumstance, military salute, national anthem for the

vatican and the united states. the moment of seeing pope francis and president obama stand shoulder to shoulder on stage. some people rivered here as early as 2:00 in the morning. everyone we spoke with said the work and the waiting to get here today was worth it all. >> exat the tic to be here. >> momentum occasion. i wouldn't miss it for the world. >> great example of humility. >> in addition to talking about climate change he talked about the 0s you topics -- serious topics of war and immigration. following the event on south lawn the pope and the president met privately. the white house saying they discussed issues including the refugee crisis in europe. and the need to extend extreme poverty. at the white house, jeff goldberg, abc7 news. alison: so as jeff mentioned, the moment many were talking about after the pope's brief time at the white house was the urgent call for action

against pollution. pope francis: it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem we can no longer be left to the future generation. [applause] alison: the pontiff continued saying we are at critical moment in history and must work to protect our common home. president obama praised the holy father for in his words shaking us out of complacency. joining us again to talk a little more about this, the pope's willingness to take on the controversial topics. he is not tap dancing around it. he is going right to it. greta kreuz is with us now. greta: obviously he continues to speak his mind. he is beholden to no one. he is apolitical i guess you could say, speaking as a leader of the church and the faith. he definitely probably was applauded by some and made

others nervous, depending on their political views. but he did take on this whole thing defending efforts to deal with climate change. and also reconnecting with cuba. undoubtedly that made some conservatives a little bit nervous. in fact, some of his critics have called himself pope-pama saying he has become too much morphing into president obama. however, he also defended traditional family values. he also talked about the sanctity of marriage. and he also talked about the need to protect religious liberty. and all of these in turn are causes causes that are dear to the traditionalists and the conservatives. he is appealing to everybody. leon: i bet you were as surprised as i when he used the word "crime" talking about the sex abuse issue. greta: right. he was speaking to the bishops at st. matthews cathedral. it was a lengthy speech.

he got a standing ovation. he addressed a number of things. but again, getting back to the sort of plain speak and telling it like it is, he used the word "crime" when he talked to the bishops and made reference to the clergy sex abuse scandal. he exhorted the bishops to work with the people who have been affected by this. he said there needs to be healing. to heal yourself you have to heal others and used the word "crime" not heard before. alison: another topic is immigration. when he did introduction at the white house he introduced himself as the son of an immigrant family. right out of the gate to touch on this immigration issue that is a hot button topic. greta: underscoring the fact that this is a big thing. as i said before that especially with immigration in the united states, that half of the catholics now are of hispanic origin. many of them are immigrants coming from other countries. he actually, the pope has made

a big thing about this as well when he was talking with the bishops at st. matthews. he urged them to deal with the immigrants to open their hearts to them, and he said remember that they have so much to give. they need help. but they have so much to give. he invited the bishops to open their arms and their hearts to those people coming from other places. leon: at every turn, his emphasis is on being pastoral not necessarily wedded to the dogma. greta: right. he preaches the gospel not the catechism. he really gets to the spirit of the law versus the word and the wagging finger of the law. he focuses on the spirit, on compassion. and overall, everything is couched in love. i think people respond to that. alison: thank you, greta. we will check in with you shortly. thank you very much. leon: of course, some of the faithful have not been supportive of pope francis, some say they believe he is

taking the church too far from the roots as greta was saying. others, though, believe he has not been progressive enough. this afternoon a half dozen people laid across rhode island avenue not far away from st. matthews cathedral in northwest washington where the pope was speaking to bishops. their message it's time for the church to begin ordination of women as priests. alison: however, the vast majority of the people we are seeing are excited at the historic visits. tom some live outside the nunciature where pope francis is staying in his time in washington. hi, tom. thomas: this has become the unofficial spot to get a glimpse of the pope. you can see the crowds milling about. if the last 24 hours is any guide this crowd will grow a lot before the pope is due back at 7:15. before he went to the basilica to start the mass in the distance he came out the door earlier. there was a crowd around. all of them got to see him coming out. here is video of when the pope

left of what is the vatican embassy in northwest washington before heading to the basilica. there was a big crowd out here. a lot of cheers and folks with cell phones, too, of course, taking pictures of him. a lot of folks this is a very exciting thing. i spoke to a native washingtonians, a life-long catholic as well. she said you really can't talk about exciting this pope has been for her faith and for the catholic church. here is what she had to say. >> i think his call to quit talking and start doing more is in keeping of what we are called to do as catholics and as christians. tom: back live, these ladies told me they will be waiting. they have two hours to wait. but the pope is scheduled, whether he will stick exactly to the schedule we don't know. but even if it's 7:30, you are saying, right? 7:15 is when he is scheduled

to arrive back here. if you want to guarantee yourself a view of him this has been the place to be. because he comes in the door and he goes out that door in the business here. at the vatican embassy here. that is when a lot of folks have gotten a glimpse of him on massachusetts avenue in northwest. reporting live, tom roussey, abc7 news. leon: all right. thank you, tom. alison: when you have been waiting eight hours what is 15 minutes? leon: exactly. what is another 20 minutes? we should be seeing the pope right now we are watching the service now that is there playing out right now on the east portico of the national shrine of the immaculate conception there. let's listen in right now. translator: in the name of the father and of the son and of the holy spirit. teaching them to observe all that i have commanded you. and behold i am with you

always until the end of the age. the word of the lord. glory to you, lord jesus christ. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪

translator: rejoice in the lord always. i shall say it again. rejoice. these are striking words. words which impact our lives. paul tells us to rejoice. he practically order to us rejoice. this command resonates with the desire we all have for a fulfilling life. a meaningful life. a joyful life. it is as if paul could hear what each one of us is thinking in his or her heart.

and the voice what we are feeling, what we are experiencing. something deep within us invites us to rejoice and tells us not to settle for placebos, which simply keep us comfortable. at the same time, we all know the struggles of everyday life. so much seems to stand in the way of the invitation to rejoice. our daily routine can often lead us to a kind of glum apathy, which gradually becomes a habit with a fatal consequence. our hearts grow numb.

we don't want apathy to guide our lives. or do we? we don't want the force of habit to our life or do we? so we ought to ask ourselves what can we do to keep our hearts from growing numb, from becoming anesthetized? how do we make the joy of the gospel increase and take deeper root in our lives? and jesus gives us the answer. he said to his disciples then and he says it to us now. go forth. proclaim. the joy of the gospel is something to be experienced. something to be known.

and lived only through giving it away, through giving ourselves away. the spirit of the world tells us to be like everyone else. to settle for what comes easy. faced with the human way of thinking we must regain the conviction that we need one another, that we have a shared responsibility for others and for the world. it is the responsibility to proclaim the message of jesus. for the source of our joy is an endless desire to show mercy, the fruit of our own experience of the power of the father's infinite mercy.

go out to all. proclaim by anointing and anoint by proclaiming. this is what the lord tells us today. he tells us a christian finds joy in mission. go out to people of every nation. a christian finds joy following a command. go forth and proclaim the good news. a christian finds ever new joy in answering a call. go forth and anoint. jesus sends his disciples out to all nations, to every people. we, too, are part of all those

people of 2,000 years ago. jesus did not provide a short list of who is or who is not worthy of receiving his message. his presence. instead, he always embraced life as he saw it. in faces of hunger, sickness, in faces of wounds of thirst, of wariness, doubt and pity. far from expecting a pretty life, smartly dressed and neatly groomed, he embraced life as he found it. it made no difference whether it was dirty, unkempt, or

broken. jesus said go out and tell the good news to everyone. go out and in my name embrace life as it is and not as you think it should be. go out to the highways and the byways. go out to tell the good news fearlessly without prejudice. without superiority. without condescension. to all those who have lost the joy of living. go out to proclaim the merciful embrace of the father. go out to those who are burdened by pain and failure. who feel that their lives are empty and proclaim the folly of a loving father who wants to anoint them with the oil of

hope. the oil of salvation. go out to proclaim the good news that error, deceitful illusions and falsehoods do not have the last word in a person's life. go out with the ointment which soothes wounds and heals hearts. mission is never the fruit of a perfectly planned program or a well-organized manual. mission is always the fruit of a life which knows what it is to be found and healed. encountered and forgiven. mission is born of a constant expression of god's merciful

anointing. the churching, the hol people of god translate of history so often traversed by conflict. justice and violence in order to encounter her children or brothers and sisters. the holy and faithful people of god are not afraid of losing their way. they are becoming of becoming self-enclose. frozen in a lease, clinging to their own security. they know self-enclosure in all of the many forms it takes is because of so much apathy.

so let us go out, let us go forth to offer everyone the life of jesus christ. the people of god can embrace everyone because we are the disciples of the one who knelt before his own to wash their feet. the reason we are here today is that many other people wanted to respond to that call. they believe that life grows by giving away and it weakens in isolation and comfort.

we are old to the missionary men and women who chose not to be shut up in the structures to give us a false sense of security. the habit to make us feel safe. to our door people are starving. we are indebted to a tradition. a chain of witnesses who have made it possible for good news of the gospel to be in every generation both good and new. today we remember one of those witnesses who testified to the joy of the gospel in these

lands. father junipero serra. he was the embodiment of a church which goes forth, a church that sets out to bring everywhere the reconciling, tenderness of god. junipero serra left his native land and its way of life. he was excited about blazing trails, going forth to meet many people, learning and valuing the particular customs and ways of life. he learned how to bring to birth and newture god's life -- nurture god's life in the faces of everyone he met. junipero serra sought to defend the dignity of the native community, to protect

it from those who had mistreated and abused it. mistreatment and wrongs which today still trouble us. especially because of the hurt which they caused in the lives of many people. father serra had a not know that inspired his life and work. he sang, he lived his life by. "keep moving forward." for him this was the way to continue experiencing the joy of the gospel. to keep his heart from growk numb, being anecessary te -- anesthetized.

he kept going because his brothers and sisters were waiting. he kept going to tepid of -- going to the end of his life. today like him, may we always be able to say forward. let's keep moving forward. [applause] leon: pope francis there delivering his homily to a crowd that has been so eagerly waiting to hear him. father tom, what struck you the most from his words for father tom: two things struck me. first, if you missed it he said go out. leon: you couldn't miss it. alison: a lot. father tom: he said it a dozen times. go out, clearly. what does that mean, though? it means go out in a physical sense. go out as father serra did at the missionary. leave their home to go to a foreign land to preach the gospel but some are called to

go out of the church building and get into the neighborhood, get in the community to see that living your faith is not something you do only within the walls of your church building. but go out in the street where the people are hungry and homeless. where you will encounter god as well. in your service. he is saying go out of yourself. don't be captured and don't be a prisoner to your own fears. your worries. your anxiety. go out of yourself. really allow god to make you the joyful, hopeful person you are called to be. alison: in addition to that sense of going out, going forth you mentioned the joyful refrain. he continued to talk about rejoicing, be joyful. talking about if you don't do that, you resort to glum apathy. which i think is an interesting phrase. father tom: right. a glum apathetic disciple for pope francis i an oxymoron. you can't possibly convert people to the lord or share the good news if you are glum,

if you're miserable. to use an expression, he doesn't want us to be sour faced saint. he wants to radiate the joy of the gospel that pope francis speaks of. he talked about anointing. for many catholic kids in their teen years, usually at the end of middle school and beginning of high school they receive the sacrament of confirmation. they are ninetied with oil. -- they are ninetied with -- they are anointed with the oil and he is saying to go out to all of us at every age.

leon: drawing back to the theme today of the canonization of junipero serra, i also noted how he came back to that toward the end of his remarks in the homily and brought back up the story, the life story of father serra and saying that he actually lived a life that was the embodiment of a church that goes forth. he hit that note again about going out and taking up a mission. father tom: right. father serra from all that i read about him was living a pretty comfortable life. he was a well-respected teacher in mallorca his native place. but he heard the call to go out in his prayer and the preaching of his time. he did leave family and homeland. he went out to what was missionary territory at that time. california. went out in a physical way but also in a spiritual way to go

out and do something that required risk. to go to an unknown place, to people who didn't speak the language he was familiar with but to take a risk for jesus. that is what he did. that is why pope francis is giving him to us as an example. be a disciple means take a risk. if you go out, physically or go out of yourself, you have to take a risk to be a witness to your faith sometimes. that is what he is challenging us to do. alison: this mass continues. the canonization portion has completed as we know. now if mass continues as the homily is complete as well. we will continue to go back to this as it continues on. newschannel8 has it in its entirety. if you would like to continue watching it's available there. leon: we'll soon are listening to the rest of the ceremony the prayers that are offered up in a number of different languages. father tom: right. this is part of the mass called the universal prayer. this is a time of the mass where we understand that it is

a mass a prayer of intersession or offing prayers for the need of god's people and the needs of the whole world. this particular celebration includes prayers offered in a sum of languages -- number of languages to reflect neutrality of the church. we saw it in the korean and american sign language and other languages as well. leon: our jonathan elias is at the theological college from across the way of the basilica standing by. jonathan? jonathan: thank you. father joining me from the vatican. he travels with the pope. bless you, you just sneezed. talk to me about the homily. what was the message to end everybody home with they will remember? father: a ringing endorsement of what he has been saying. go out. this is the church that goes out. this is a church that doesn't stay comfortable and stay at home. but you have to go out. you have to anoint, let yourself be anointed. be with people. imitate junipero serra.

live the gospel. homily about livering christianity. that's what -- homily about living christianity. it's moving. no political statement. he is talking about the gospel. jonathan: people anticipate what he will say with the joint house of congress. will there be any political type of message there do you think? a lot of people trying to anticipate what he will say? father: the playbook or the lexicon of the people's visit united states and cuba is the gospel of jesus christ. when the gospel is applied to any situation it encounters people. that is called "politics" at time because it is the application of the gas pel to various situation and it involves people rubbing shoulders and elbows and brushing up against one another. that happens anywhere. that is the work of the proclaimer of the gospel and the process. francis is a prophetic person. prophet is not a wild fringe person that lives on the fringe of society but a prophet is one that bears a

word that is not his own. the prophet comes to stir us up, jar us from the slumber to make us realize we may not live in the best possible life we should. we should change our lives and experience conversion. prophet calls us back to the source and origin. that is what the pope is doing in the messages here. he speaks to government and he will apply the gospel to the bigger picture of things and speak about how it affects nations. what are the implication of living in tradition, in the poor and the orphan? what does it mean to care for the earth that god has given us? people criticize the pope why should he talk about the climate change? people call me and say tell him to play pope. he is a bishop and pastor of souls concerned with the world and the people living this world. a line we quote that you see

in football stadiums at the end of the end zone. god so loved the world he gave his own son. even says yeah, rah-rah. it's jesus. but we have to be concerned with the world that god gave us, and caring for the common home. that is why people are a little upset why should the pope invite us to think about pollution, why should a pope ask to us think about all the stuff we do in our rich culture? it's the poor who are the recipients of our waste and lack of care for the earth. the social teaching of the church. jonathan: but in america there is a separation of church and state. and church shouldn't have a role to govern the people. this will be the first pope to go before the lawmakers in congress and talk to them. that is why anything he says i guess would be deemed or defined being political at that point.

father: anytime someone says something that upsets or mable us rethink what we are doing we say it's political. application of the gospel is for humanity. not just christians. the message of the old testament and the new testament is to help people be better. we heard president obama this morning say significant religious things in the talk, deeply christian things. the esex of christianity if you -- the essex of christianity, if you will. the pope repeated that. we are here to make the world a better place and care for one another. that is the goal. in the process we lead people to heaven, too. jonathan: i imagine you get a review of the church from the pope. >> we will hear about it. there will be a press conference this everything at the hotel and we will hear father lombardi share with us the emotion. i want to hear what happened in the white house and oval office and sidebar things that

happened. jonathan: he wasn't comfortable in that session. >> he will be extremely tomorrow at the soup kitchen he goes to. the genius of the pope is he puts everybody at ease. no matter if he is with the rich, mighty or the powerful or the street person that meets him along the way. if he's in a barrio in brazil and he is in somebody's home drinking the matte. he is at home. he is comfortable. the french have an expression. [speaking french] "he is comfortable in his own skin." that is what is neat about him. jonathan: appreciate your time. if you want the best seat in house with pope francis you have to be a prisoner or be homeless and you'll have the best seat. back to you. alison: thank you. as we continue to watch the mass, father tom, what can we expect from here on out? father tom: watching the mass from here on out is what most catholics would understand as part of a normal celebration.

we have had the unique experience of watching the canonization of father serra. followed by the literature of the word the reading from the scripture, homily and the universal prayer. now we are beginning the eucharist, the offering of the gift of bread and wine in the prayer of consecration will become the body and the blood of christ. then the distribution of the gift. body of christ to all the people there as they receive holy communion at the celebration of the malice. in this masses a the end cardinal wuerl offers prayer and then it's love and peace and put in practice what pope francis taught today. he will offer a dismiss go out. say it again. do what i told you to do. announce the good news. leon: thank you, father tom. we will keep our eyes on this.

coverage will continue on newschannel8 if you want to watch the rest of the service. the eucharist is being prepared for the communion. there are 1930 different stations set up for people to take comunian. 25,000 -- take communion. there are 25,000 people. i could take some time. father tom: great to be with you. leon: we learned a lot today. father tom: thank you. alison: let's talk briefly about the other angles of the pope's visit. one of the big issues to watch in night is the traffic and how metro will be handling a big crowd. leon: that is right. metro suffered serious delays from two power outages. last night's debacle where the train was stuck in the tum for an hour -- tum -- tunnel for an hour. stephen tschida has more. stephen: we are south of the

basilica on franklin street northeast. you can see in front of us backed up pretty heavily along franklin street. it merges with michigan which is closed off around the basilica. so in this area at this time there are some backups, some slow-going. but we have been out and about since 8:00. i can tell you across the city pretty smooth traffic. all across the city. also, on metro. heavy passenger flow here at the brookland station but it was orderly. a lot of people heeded the warnings and heeded the messages and they either telecommuted, stayed home or if they plan to attend the papal events they took mass transit, they left early, they got here on time. all around the city pretty smooth going. rolling blockages. but keep your eyes open for tonight. we have a concert in town, the nats game is going on. behind us you can see still some traffic but just passed

as we go past the basilica. clean and clear traffic flow. that is pretty much the story around the region tonight. but again, later on tonight, be careful and of course tomorrow morning around capitol hill. that is where the pontiff will be speaking. we will probably have more road closures as we know we will have them. probably more problems getting around in that area. that is the latest from here in northeast d.c. back to you. leon: thank you, stephen. here is hoping for smooth sailing throughout the evening. alison: absolutely. take a break. we'll check the weather. when we come back, we live you from live images of the mass at the basilica. >> he is teaching the church social teaching. that makes everyone uncomfortable

leon: pope francis beginning to celebrate the eucharist now. they will be lining up to take communion momentarily and we will keep our eyes and ears peeled to the service. it continues on newschannel8. alison: if you think about all the people there outdoors what a blessing the weather has been for this event, doug. leon: for sure. doug: we started as the end of last week. we knew the timeline taking a close look at the weather pattern. pretty much stayed to the formula we saw that it would

start clearing out tuesday, midday. in time for the pope's plan to arrive at andrews. beautiful weather today and tomorrow. we are on target here. alison: nice. doug: put it in a win call lum for us. looking live across the city on the left-hand side of the screen from the studio in arlington. friday is not terrible. just cloudy and cooler for friday. look at the comfortable fall temperatures. fall began, autumnal equinox. 75 in fredericksburg and andrews. 75 in fredericksburg. this evening, with clear to partly cloudy skies. drop in the air temperatures throughout the night. by early tomorrow morning the range across the viewing area will be between 50 and 60

degrees. the sun sets at 7:04. as we get through the next 90 days between today the first day of autumn and the december 212 first day of winter we will lose more daylight. the daylight hours continue to contract. with that temperatures by morning, mostly in the 50's in the metro area. 60 in upper marlboro. mid-50's north and west of the metro area. we have high pressure to give us sunshine and comfortable weather right now and the same story tomorrow. there will be a battle in the atmosphere with area of low pressure off the south carolina coast to move this way. how the systems interact and which is stronger will determine what the weather will be like here friday night, saturday, saturday night, sunday and monday. different computer models have different solutions. this one computer model shows

friday morning there will be a lot of rain pushing across the carolinas. scattered showers by friday in southern maryland. what happens after that? flip a coin. that is the way the computer mods will line up. we could sigh rain and if you have weekend plans stay in touch with the updated forecast on air and online as well. in the meantime, tomorrow is beautiful weather for any activities outdoor in the area. partly sunny to mostly sunny at times. highs to 80 degrees. the next seven days for saturday and sunday we are keeping 30% chance of rain in the forecast now. but as we get closer and more computer model guidance comes in some areas may see the chances of rain significantly increase on saturday and sunday. definitely cloudy, breezy and cool. tomorrow is beautiful, today is beautiful. all good. weather is gorgeous. alison: we have to relish it. leon: you see the effect pope francis has on people in town. >> you're so loving. thank you.

see you soon. as you know earlier today pope francis took part in a mid-day prayer service with 300 u.s. bishops at st. matthews cathedral in northwest. leon: sam ford is there live now. look at the message the pope delivered. sam, a politically charged message. sam: in some way it was. the pope came to the historic church where john f. kennedy's funeral was held. all the bishops came from across the country. he told them that he claim to speak to them as a brother among brothers. but here outside st. matthews cathedral the crowds formed half a block away. the closest was that the general public was allowed to the service. some 300 u.s. catholic bishops representing 71 million catholics nationwide. the pope rived from the white house with messages on imiation, he told them, welcome immigrants.

climate change. he said in man's predatory relationship with nature. clergy sex abuse, he said such crimes must never be repeated. he spoke in italian. >> it was really a one of, a once in a lifetime opportunity to be there. it was prayerful. >> a vibrant church. pope francis inspired people who are active in his faith and others who are not. he is a welcoming pope and has a message that is hopeful. in his remarks earlier, he encouraged the bishops to follow his lead and be meek and humble. sam: on the front steps of st. matthews, pope francis and his motorcade left the historic church. after he endured the listeners to be courageous in the fight against injustice. it is wrong to look the other

way or to remain silent. so i think he had a big impact on a number of people here and i guess that message will be taken out across the country by the hundreds of bishops. reporting live from northwest washington, sam ford, abc7 news. leon: okay. thank you, sam. you mentioned that the pope today spoke italian. he brought with him a bit of rome. fond of riding around in the little black fiat. that car is getting a lot of people talking. joce sterman joins us now with more on the pope's wheels. joce: he could have picked any italian car. maseratier ferrari, but no. he picked a fiat. that car is trending across twitter and social media. i picked the funnier ones we saw across the social media platforms today. i love this one. "to the papal fiat, people." this guy called shutgun in front of the white house but said there wasn't enough room because the fiat is not the roomiest vehicle. people talking about the choice for its lack of pizazz.

a simple car, a humble car. a lot of discussion about that. talking about it also being heavily armed. people saw it roll by and there are literally thousands of tweets and instagram posts with video like this. three seconds of a fiat rolling by. the best commercial they ever had is what this person said. the most perfect fiat commercial. if this isn't it, i don't know what is. he is wavering out the side. he flew in, in a commercial plane and was picked up in a rent fiat. simple guy. they love that. the person pointed out on instagram that the fiat sales must be skyrocketing as a result of the video and the tweet and the instagram posts like this. instead of having a limo pick him up, he took a humble fiat. this is my favorite. pope francis making fiats look cool since 2015 a.d. i look at the official fiat twitter account. so far they have not capitalized but it's only a

manter of time -- matter of time. back to you. leon: you know it. alison: we will be watching for that. thank you. coming up next, a special moment for nuns who came to see pope francis. leon: what they brought with them to get the pontiff's attention coming up next on "abc7 news at 5:00". right now the pan tiff's attention -- pontiff's attention is on celebrating the eucharist. preparing to deliver communion >> as we wait the blessed pope. and the coming of our savior jesus christ. for the kingdom, the power and the glory are yours now and

alison: welcome back to our historic coverage of pope francis' visit to the united states. live look at the canonization mass underway at the basilica in northeast d.c. the entire mass is airing without interruption right now on our sister station newschannel8.

they will be some of the lasting images of pope francis' first trip to washington. the pontiff kissing young children on the forehead after they were offered up by their parents. as john gonzalez shows us the 15-minute drive around the ellipse will be a cherished memory for people of all ages. john: thousands lined constitution avenue for what was a historic day in the capital as the holy father, the leader of the oldest christian church in the world came through here and we remarked how earlier we saw you, the group posted on the light post. you were embracing that post and you weren't letting go until the holy father came through. how exciting. >> it was super exciting. the reason why we were holding on to that is the holy father is the vicker of christ. we wanted to welcome him and chant for him as long as it took for him to arrive. john: we understand he looked

at you and gave you a thumbs up. >> his face totally changed. it was great. he was looking at everybody and saw argentinean flag. john: explain this to us. if he saw it i'm sure he loved it. >> traditional drink made with a tea that you put hot water in and you put it in this gourd. popular in argentina. it's coffee in argentina. john: experience and a memory you will never forget. >> absolutely. jesus came us here today. john: god bless you. thank you. these are some of the stories we have been hearing all day long as the journey continues here in the nation's capital. day one of what will be an historic trip in the united states. back to you inside. >> holy father, a great honor and joy to welcome you.

president obama: great honor and privilege to welcome you to the united states. >> younger people, older people. >> momentous occasion. i wouldn't miss it for the world. >> to see a saint canonized today. >> i asked him if i could get a hug and he said only if you pray a rosary for it. i said of course. ♪ ♪ announcer: now "abc7 news at 6:00". on your side. maureen: right now pope francis making history. a look at the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception. leon: thousands gathered for the canonization of junipero serra today. it followed big events including the pope's meeting at the white house with president obama and a papal parade thrown in. abc7 covering every angle of the pope's visit. we begin with jonathan elias at the theological college in northeast. jonathan? jonathan: it has been an exciting day for so many people. they waited hours for the chance to get a glimpse of the

pope. they got more of that. michigan avenue behind me is closed. it's in between me and the basilica. along the route, hundreds of people, thousands of people have been sitting there for five, six, seven hours waiting for the one moment they got it this often. rock star status as he has been treated the whole time since he landed. cheering and screaming as the pope mobile rolled by. behind me the mass continues. the canonization mass started about 4:15. it is expected to go for another about 15, 20 minutes. maybe longer. suzanne kennedy is inside. she has been a part of the mass and listening to every step of the way. very exciting in there. there have been cheers as though there was a football game played in there. suzanne? suzanne: people were thrilled when the poem came through here not once but twice. in the pope mobile. we are an hour and a half into this mass. if you take a look behind me, we are in the portion of the mass communion is being given. portion completed in the first 20 minutes. that was the canonization. we heard in the homily a call to action if you will by the