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 holy father.

not to allow our hearts to go numb, to go forth and offer everyone the life of jesus christ. we want to take you back a few hours to show you a huge crowd has been gathering here throughout the day to be close to the holy father. people waited in long security lines. and endured the heat. everyone saying just how much they love his holiness. the man referred to as the people's pope. >> i think he speaks to more than just peak who have a religious sense. people believe in the best of humanity. he speaks to that. >> he seems personable. you feel like you can have him around the dining room table to have a conversation with him. by dynamically catholic. >> he touches everybody in the different way for the past popes he had. even though all the past popes are different in their own

way. suzanne: there are deacons that are hoping to get through communion there 15 minutes. reporting live northeast washington, suzanne kennedy, abc7 news. jonathan: thank you so very much. so much planning went in the visits and so far -- knock on wood -- it's gone without a hitch. no problems reported. thousands of people lined up very early this morning. this area is in lockdown. if you are inside enjoying the mass that is where you stay. along if route people were given a chance to see the pope as he made his way buy on the

street with a pope mobile. he is here to inspire so many people. chris papst joins me now. there is a group of disabled adults and children. one of the group inspired by the pope. chris: it inspires me. i spent much of the day today with impressive people from the national catholic partnership on disability. this is a group that represents all 180 catholic die diocese in america. they got to the theological college at 8:00 this morning. one and a half hours before the pope drove by around 3:30 this afternoon. they were out there making sure they did not miss him. when he did come by he stood, he waved, he acknowledged them. he did not disappoint. many have been waiting years, their lives to see him. he is that inspiring of a figure. after he drove by we got a chance to speak with one man who had to come here and feel the presence of the pope. patrick, introduce us to your friend here. >> this is galihead, 8-year-old yellow lab, guide

dog for guiding eyes for the blind. chris: you live in d.c. and you wanted to come be in the presence of a pope. what it like when he was ten or 15 feet from you? >> i had a friend next to me from the national catholic partnership of disability. he told me when he was coming up. i got chills. i got excited. galihaed got up and the chills got stronger as the pope got close. the pope stood up and waved at us. i was moving. something i'll remember for my life. deepens your faith. chris: explain the reasoning behind the emotion. what is it about this pope that connects with you? >> i thought about that. what is the reason why i'm so moved by him. i like how humble he is. you can see his faith through how humble a man he is. then my faith is so important to me to be in the presence of him means a lot.

chris: jonathan, the men and the women and the children impressive from the national catholic partnership on disabilities to represent all 180 catholic diocese in america. jonathan: good stuff. so many people traveled so far. they knew the pope was coming and they have come from all corners of the country to be here. when the vatican that travels a huge contingent travels with him. i got to spend time with the english speaking priest that travels with him. he does a lot of the interviews and he is a fascinating individual. he's friends with the pope and says the pope is more comfortable in the setting of the such -- soup kitchen where he is tomorrow and in a barrio more than the white house. he is a humble man. he is driving in a plane chartered and drive around in a fiat.

you heard joce talk about ferrari. he is more comfortable in a fiat. the interesting thing about the vatican he comes here and he stays at the the embassy. this is his down time. if you consider a 78-year-old pontiff's schedule five days he will have 20 speeches he has to give. the traveling that is involved. you can see everywhere he goes he is shaking hands, getting kissed, embraced by people. tom roussey is at the vatican embassy. it's fitting on the schedule you see down time for the pope. he needs it. tom: he does. he got some earlier and he will get some tonight. the crowd is growing. we are seeing more people hanging out on massachusetts avenue outside the embassy. there is a good reason for that. the schedule if it is followed calls for the pope return here for the night at 7:15. that is where he will return. the door at the front of the embassy he has been going in and out of every time. this is video from earlier.

this afternoon before he went to the mass at the basilica. he came out the front door. a big crowd of kids there to greet him. right there. but also in the distance where am, crowd of people with cell phones in hand watching as the pope left for the basilica. we talk to a family from poolsville, maryland. devout catholics who were excite and said they had to drive down from montgomery county. they took a risk and they said we think the pope will ride on 34th street. the risk was a smart risk and they got to see him. here is what they had to say. >> we just saw the pope. we wait and waited and he drove by. we had the kids, we held the baby up and he rolled window down and gave us a wave. >> he was driving in the car and waved to us like a regular person. the crowd is growing to my right and left. these folks hoping to get a view of the pope.

this is the one guaranteed spot where you will get a view of him when he comes and goes. at least up until now he is leaving out he same door every time. we have kids, adults house of ad everyone excited. when he is getting close you get the phones out to get selfie. hoping to get a view of pope francis who is due to arrive in an hour on massachusetts avenue. reporting live, tom roussey, abc7 news. jonathan: all right, tom. thank you. so far every day that the pope has been here, yesterday the picture of the day had to be on the tarmac while huge suburbans and cadillacs are nearby he climbed in the fiat. the picture of today came while the papal parade was going on. a little girl came over the fence and started to run toward the pope mobile. immediately intercepted by security. they jumped in front of her and grabbed her to walk her back to the fence. this is one of the swiss guards, private security of the vatican, ran back over and directed the girl to be brought over to the pontiff.

the pope gave her a hug and a kiss. she presented the pope with a letter. a signature moment where the pope loves to be among the people. for those who know and spent time with the pope, that is what fuels the 78-year-old to give him the energy to go on. they say everybody around him is exhausted, but the pope himself has enough energy to continue on. live at the basilica, i'm jonathan elias. let's go back to you. maureen: thank you, jonathan. coming up on "abc7 news at 6:00", continuing live coverage of the pope's visit to america. he is saying mass at the basilica right now. you are seeing live pictures of the mass underway. we will have much more coming up next. doug: i'm doug hill in the belfort furniture weather center. the picture perfect weather. that is still to come on the

leon: look live at pope francis saying canonization mass and the mass will wrap up and the pope will be driven back to the nunciature where he is staying. stay with abc7 as we continue to bring you coverage of "pope in america."

maureen: today outside the white house there were even more memorable moments. brad bell has been keeping track of them all and is live with a look at the highlights of the spiritual history made today. brad? brad: we have seen him preside over the mass, seen religious religious -- seen religion and heard talk of how the scripture combines and interacts with people and becomes politics. we saw a little of all of that today. the pope appeared at the front door of the vatican embasssy before 79:00 to greet -- embassy before 79:00 to greet school children. there were smiles, screams of joy and selfies. after a short drive in the middle car surrounded by mighty secret service s.u.v.'s the pope's appearance at the white house was greated with the formality and flourish of a state visit. president obama welcoming the

pope. >> good morning. brad: pope urging stronger action on clean air. >> climate change is a problem that can no longer be left to our future generation. brad: the pope climbed in the pope mobile for a parade around the ellipse to greet thousands that gathered. he did not disappoint. the security team carrying two babies and a young girl to the pope for blessings. [applause] the gathering of 300 u.s. bishops at st. matthews seemed equally thrilled to be in the perhaps of the pope, prayers and the words of advice delivered in italian. [speaking italian] translator: be pastors and survivor slow for the people. brad: it seems like the pope has done a lot and been here for days but it's only been about 26 hours and he is just

getting warmed up. after he gets a rest tonight he will head to a joint meeting of congress tomorrow morning and he will have event catholic charities and be with the poor. then to new york and philadelphia. busy man indeed. maureen: thank you, brad. still ahead on "abc7 news at 6:00" -- continuing coverage of the pope in america. including more about the trip to the white house this morning. a look at what he talked with president obama about. leon: perfect weather today. how long will it stay this way? the complete storm forecast up next.

maureen: thousands are on hand to pray with the leader of the catholic church on what has been a busy and emotional day. it began with pope francis' visit to the white house. president obama and the first lady greeted the pontiff and gave them a tour of the executive mansion. both men spoke to a crowd of 15,000 guests on the south lawn. pope addressed several topics including religious liberty and climate change. pope francis: it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem we can no longer be left to the future generations. maureen: a parade around the ellipse, he and president obama met privately for 40 minutes in the oval office. leon: stay with us, folks. with abc7 as we cover the pope's historic trip to

erica, together with newschannel8. we will bring you more than 40 hours of live team coverage. we are keeping you up to date at wjla.com. and on twitter, and facebook. everything you need right here. all right. doug hill has the forecast coming up next. abc7's coverage of pope francis' visit to washington continues. you can see the recessional now underway. we'll be right back. ♪ ♪

leon: the scene at in the basilica, the mass is concluding. renegesal underway. pope made his way inside for the thousands who gathered inside the facility. the crowd will be given a chance to leave. doug: tomorrow will be fine for outside activities. it's all good. get to it and give you a weather story and numbers. 80 degrees degrees in the backg. a look across the city with clear skies. 80 the initial high at reagan national. morning low is 60. the average is now 77. 60 degrees. we're in fine shape. it's all because of the high pressure hanging with us the past couple of days. there's one more day to hang around to give us a day of

sunshine. by friday it will change on us here weather wise. 67 at reagan national and leesburg. 75 at andrews. 74 in fredericksburg. 73 in winchester. during the evening with the mostly clear skies we will see temperatures steadily fall. a chilly, wake-up tomorrow. tomorrow the first full day of autumn. 50 to 60 degrees with clear skies and the range of temperatures early thursday morning. 50s and the farther south and east to 50 degrees. upper marlboro as well. typical day. satellite and radar will give you a sense of what is happening south. we have a battle royale in the area with low pressure off the coast of carolina to push rain inland. a large area over new eng

land. it will determine whether late irsaturday and sunday the rain in the carolinas will come our way. or the high pressure north moves south. tomorrow looks gorgeous. we have more about the weekend in a few minutes. maureen: thank you. leon: it wrapped up at the basilica. pope is about to leave to head back to the nunciature where he will be residing for the evening before the big day tomorrow. maureen: beautiful day in and around washington. hope our friends enjoy it also. "world news tonight" with david muir is coming up next. leon: you can count on us to deliver full coverage all day tomorrow with the pope activity when he goes to capitol hill to speak with the

joint session of congress and head downtown for a catholic charity. more coverage throughout the day on abc7. see you at 11:00.

tonight, a special edition of "world news tonight." you can see the thousands gathered here right behind me, pope francis, here in america. his historic visit to the white house. meeting with the president. the enormous crowds lining the streets. the pope lifting a little girl along the wrote. stopping to bless babies. then, entering the basilica. as we heard from so many americans, what is it about this pope? also tonight, the other major headline today. the ceo of the largest automaker in the world resigning, after rigging cars to pass tests. what now for the value of your car? donald trump, firing back tonight. his new message to fox news. why is he so upset? and carly fiorina tonight on her empathy for hillary clinton. terror on the highway. the 911 calls, suspected snipers taking aim at drivers. >> i think my window just got shot.