welcome a world leader at andrews. of course, he travels to andrews regularly to fly out of. it's rare he's been there personally. ur understanding is he wanted to bes"bu there. the white house says it meant a lot to him and when they met at the vatican in march of 2014, he actually encouraged the pontiff to visit the united states. >> they spoke for about 90 minutes there. these two world leaders have a lot in common. touched on climate change. the son of immigrations, the pope, is a proponent of immigration reform as well as the president. that may be on their agenda tomorrow, we don't know, when they meet privately at the white house. again, this is only the third pope to meet an american president at the white house. the fourth to meet a president in this country. this is the first time this pope, this south-american pope is visiting the united states of america. ever as pope. as cardinal. as a priest.

as a jesuit study. he has never been to this country and he is going to get a huge taste of it not only here but as we know, up to the big apple and philadelphia over the weekend where the largest crowds will be, lots of families coming in. those are the more open-mass events that really are shutting down the city of brotherly love. >> he was born in argentina and served as the archbishop of buenos aires. pope francis is the first pope, first priest to become pope after a pope has retired. benedict, something no one was expecting. >> chris, we understand you're seeing vice president biden and mrs. biden, is that right? >> reporter: yes, they're at the front of the line. we see vice president biden, his wife, jill, and the catholic

delegation. you mentioned cardinal donald wuerl, cardinal mckprrkscarrick. see the military procession as well on the red carpet awaiting president obama's arrival here on the tarmac. we're beginning to see people get off the plane on the back, looks like some of the traveling press that was traveling with him. there it appears we're waiting for those doors to open. >> we can see a glimpse of him there. yes. he is standing and waiting. >> reporter: yeah, and there you see walking up the steps now, that is the apostolic nuncio, archbishop carlo vigano,

vatican's representative in the united states. he's the one who will go on board the plane. he just walked on. he will formally greet pope francis and welcome him to the united states then they will come down the stairs with the papal delegation and meet president obama and the first lady here on the tarmac. >> a lot of the folks who were in the viewing span there would love to hear from the pontiff, but we understand there will be no formal remarks made there at joint base andrews. >> reporter: and yet, pat, this pope has made a career of disrupting people's expectations and putting his security detail to its limits at times. he has broken some protocol. he has freelanced. we know -- >> there we have the first family right now arriving. >> we know that he is -- >> walking up to the tarmac. you can see president obama, sasha, malia and the first lady as well. >> and the first grandmother there. >> that's right. >> and there we also saw jill biden there, too, walking out.

these are live pictures, again, from andrews. >> and the president approaches the tarmac as we await the moment, and there he is. there you can see. >> reporter: the president walking next to his daughter, malia, mrs. obama walking with sasha. the secret service, of course. there is vice president biden. his wife, jill. and two of their granddaughters. those are are the children of his son, hunter biden, with him. >> pope francis will be seeing when familiar faces, cardinals who he's known for years when he wases a cardinal. >> and we assume he's waiting for the president and the first family to take their positions,

and they have, and here he comes. president obama there to meet pope francis and welcome him to the united states. [ cheering ] >> francis pope! francis pope!

>> hey, hey, welcome to the usa! hey, hey, welcome to the usa! >> chris, tell us what you're observing and hearing. we hear "welcome to the usa, hey, hey," is that what they're hearing back here? >> reporter: yeah, they have been coming up with these chants for the past hour and a half to

two hours, john. one they were saying el papa, hey, hey, welcome to the usa. they have been creative. if nothing else. you can just tell, people are so, so excited to be here. we got a can chance to see a couple people and talk to a couple people who said they felt blessed, was the word, to be here to see pope francis in person, and they have been practicing some of these chants to welcome him and to make him feel welcome almost immediately upon his arrival here in the united states. remember, some of those big events are going to be in philadelphia, of course, he is going to speak at the united nations general assembly in new york, but his first visit to the united states was right here in our area at joint base andrews. he will be coming to maryland and the district of columbia first. and this will be his first exposure to the united states and the hospitality and the affection that catholics here in

our area have for this man. it's evident. >> these are historic moments, poignant moments. wendy is at the live desk with some reflections. wendy? >> you know, it is just kind of lovely to see someone treated like a rock star who's not an actually rock star, especially a religious leader. that's kind of lovely. and also, you know, we were talking earlier about the delegation from the dmv. we've got d.c. mayor muiriel bowser, larry hogan, and terry mcauliffe. we have to remember, governor hogan from michigan has been battling lymphoma, so be interesting later on to get his thoughts on what it is like for him. all three of them, by the way, graduated from catholic high school. what it means for him to meet the holy father, you know, after the year that he has had and what he has had to go through. and also the, you know, it was interesting the 18 miles that he's going to be traveling from joint base andrews to the vatican embassy up on mass

avenue. i travel that way and i come into work and i must tell you there were a lot of people out there cleaning it up and getting it ready. if he takes that route, that is probably the most logical route for him to take. >> you know, wendy, as you were speaking there we saw him greet about four children selected from catholic schools here. i think third, fourth, and sixth grades as well. and now he is on the move and we understand that he's closer to you, chris. is that right? >> yeah, chris. >> reporter: yeah, we basically saw those four children, a first, third, fifth, and seventh grader go up and greet the pope. one of them is jocelyn, 12 years old, goes to sacred heart bilingual catholic school in northwest washington. she was one of the four. now he's walking with president obama just past the crowd and we can see where he sort of stopped to talk to some people right

along the edge there. was hard to see. but, again, he did stop and greet those four children, and now walking back with president obama. and as i mentioned earlier, in speaking with some of the folks who handled the only correlation to this type of visit which was pope benedict comes to meet president george w. bush, they say they are likely to go to a small lounge here at joint base andrews and have a very brief but private moment between the president and his family and pope francis. so we expect that will happen probably in the next few minutes here. jim, pat? >> yeah, and we expect that those people outside joint base andrews will be trying to get a glimpse of him. they won't see him because he'll be in the closed popemobile motorcade. he will be traveling from andrews making that trip to the

nunciature on massachusetts avenue, the vatican's embassy. that won't stop people along the way, take a picture of even the motorcade, of the car that he's going to be riding in. >> we should say there will be two motorcades going in different directions. talk about a challenging evening. the president's motorcade. we look at the cardinals there who have had a chance to shake his hands. didn't see any embraces but we know they all consider themselves friends because they go back decades in many cases. people staying in place right now. the pope seeing a lot of familiar faces as he stepped off that plane and now is in a private lounge as chris pointed out with the first family. we don't know how long they will be speaking because they have a formal meeting tomorrow at the white house. and, again, that 18-mile journey to the vatican embassy where he will be spending the next two nights. this is a night of rest, we should say. he'll be going over his agenda and schedule for tomorrow and thursday. he's had a busy day in cuba as we know today. >> and the busy past four days. >> right.

>> in cuba. he's 78 years old and we understand he has a bit of a bum knee. so we're sure that he'll need the rest tonight because he's got quite a schedule ahead of him in the next couple days. of course, the best chance people will have a seeing him will be tomorrow. that's going to be a big day starting with the meeting with the president at 9:15 in the morning and the official white house welcoming ceremony where some 15,000 people have been invited to the white house south lawn for that ceremony. believed to be among one the biggest crowds ever on the south lawn. >> and in that, anything is possible because as we know, this pope likes to engage as we've said, so he may stray away and try to reach out to people. he stayed in line because the president was leading him through that line, but what a joyous moment. you could just see the warmth and the smiles on everyone. just elated to see the pontiff. >> chris, tell us now what

happens. what's next there at joint base andrews? >> reporter: basically, yeah, pat, basically he will leave here in a motorcade. there will actually be two motorcades leaving here. one likely to take, moving president obama off of joint base andrews, the other taking the pope on that stretch into washington, d.c.. he will be heading to the nunciature, basically the residence of the papal nuncio, basically the vatican representative to the united states. that is where he will spend the night and rest up. remember, this pope had a relatively full day right up until he left cuba of events scheduled. he has a very, very packed schedule tomorrow and thursday. and so tonight will be a chance for him to sort of catch his breath, to rest up, and to get ready for that. remember, a lot of catholics have never truly heard this pope's voice. we have read what he's said more than we have actually heard it.

that's because his native tongue is spanish. he has worked virtually his whole life in argentina. and so while he speaks english, he does speak italian, he even speaks a little german and a little french. spanish is his natural tongue to give a large address. and it is where it's in spanish that you sort of hear some of the emotion and nuance of what he has said. so while we have read a lot of this pope's comments, a lot of people have not heard his actual voice, and so because some of the events tomorrow will be in english, this may be the first time a lot of the catholics in our area are hearing the pope for the first time, not just reading what it is that he had to say. >> and chris, right now we're seeing that live picture, cardinal donald wuerl there, a friend of this pope, a longtime friend of him, involved in his selection, we should say, too. you know, we have seen on the other side of the fence there, a

lot of young people. this pope is all about the future and children and he loves to engage with young people. we saw that motorcade pull up. we assume that may be the papal motorcade, although it could be the president's. we're not sure. >> and the pope is very popular with young people. >> he is. >> they've taken a real liking to this pope and his progressive, inclusive views on issues. they feel they can relate to him. very popular. he's known as the people's pope. pope francis is on his way, or will be soon to the apostolic nunciature of the holy see where he will sleep tonight. and jackie is live outside on massachusetts avenue. set the scene for us. >> reporter: it's a joyful scene. take a look over my shoulder. see children from various catholic schools from parishes in d.c., virginia, and maryland. remember southern maryland is the cradle of catholicism in the

united states. one of the oldest catholic areas in the united states. now, as you can see as a photographer pans down the row of those absolutely gorgeous young people, you can see some who are wearing a turquoise or light green colored kerchief. they're from embassy of argentina. they're here to greet the pope, hoping for a selfie with him. they've been taking pictures of us as we take pictures of them. you can see they're all very, very excited to be here and cannot wait to see pope francis who is, of course, as you said, very, very popular with the young people of the catholic church because of his words that he's spoken about things like climate change. so a great sense of anticipation, and i can tell you that one of the most beautiful moments for me here was we have a live monitor that was showing the events going on at joint

base andrews and to see some of the older priests come over and look at that monitor when the pope got off the plane, that is something you don't get to see too many times in your life, and i know that they were very, very happy to see that. live in -- >> very sweet moment. >> reporter: back to you. >> we have been down, jackie, this road before. i was there at the nunciature, too, when pope benedict came. i can only imagine crowds are going to be massive whenever he comes and goes over the next few days. >> don't know much about selfies. >> no sticks, we know. >> no selfie sticks. the pope is known for taking selfies in crowds much to the dismay and discomfort of his security forces. but there are not supposed to be selfies with the pope on this trip. but, again, he's very unpredictable. he's very much a people's pope. and -- >> i see a fiat and i see a chevrolet so i think we've got both countries covered with italy and the united states. and i don't know what cars are

made in argentina, but if there were any, they may be there. and here we take another live look as everyone starts to make a move because everything shifts as we've mentioned down to embassy row where we just checked in with jackie bensen. there he will be getting the lay of the land over the next two days in washington. and it is, if you thought the cuba journey was busy, this is completely as i've said jam packed. every moment. >> this is really when the impact of his visit here in washington begins to be felt. we know that there are roads that were closed beginning early today and, of course, the path that he takes, the road that he takes on his way back to washington. >> and they're leaving the vip lounge there. >> they're leaving now, about to make that trip into washington. again, 18 minutes to the vatican's embassy on mass avenue. and traffic is blocked there, and there are going to be a lot of rolling road closures and delays around the region for the

next three days. >> i wasn't timing it but it had to be about eight to ten minutes inside there. >> rather brief meeting. >> and i don't see the first daughters anymore. it is the first lady, michelle obama, waving to the crowd again there. and the pope. you mentioned he had some knee issues. and he's waving again to the crowd. let's listen in. they just look like two friends, don't they? so relaxed in their conversation. >> hey, chris, how close are you to them now at this point? >> reporter: very close. we have a great view of them. i can tell you the archbishop and cardinals came out ahead of him, we could see the smiles on their faces as they were walking back to the cars and i could tell you the folks in the crowd, a lot of the kids and students

are waving, pressing up against that gate as the pope walks by. so far he has not broken from protocol. he's been in that line. he's there. now it looks like he's pausing now to stop and speak with the president and the first lady. that is right in front of a large group of students, and they are boisterous if nothing else in their affection for this pope. >> it looks as though they may be going their separate ways. that may have been a good-bye, until tomorrow. >> there's the wave. >> reporter: there's the wave. >> as he gets inside his vehicle. now was that the fiat that i saw before? and there's the vatican flag on it. >> there it is. there it is. >> very. >> very appropriate for this occasion. >> and we have talked for so many weeks about the humility and how humble this pope is. he does not really show a lot of flair in anything that he does

or wears or the way he carries himself. and never has. >> it's one of the things that differe differentiates from his predecessor pope benedict who we know liked fashion. the papal fashion. his famous red prada shoes. this pope is very low key, very simple in terms of the garments he chooses to use and the life he chooses to live. >> and you know, i was struck by something that i read over the weekend about humor and how important it is for him and his religious life and how he thinks that it should be important to everyone as they -- as they live out their life in religious terms and you can see him smiling, almost throughout every shot you see. >> what a face. >> oh, this is a fiat 500 four-door sedan. you don't see those every day. >> now we know. now we know. the pope arrives in washington and he is whisked away from

andrews in style. >> well, speaking of cars and roads, let's bring in our traffic reporter, melissa, in the afternoon for us. melissa, talk about some of these road closures. he will certainly be zooming straight down massachusetts avenue but a lot of people have to steer clear of a lot of roads. >> lot of people going to have to avoid some roads for us here this afternoon. so let's tell you kind of what we know at this point this morning. of course the pope right now you can see driving away in that fiat waving out of the back window there. joint base andrews. he's leaving there right now, probably will be off the base in thefecti next ten minutes as th wiggle their whey out of there here this afternoon. now, there are some areas, of course, to avoid. we don't want to tell you exactly where secret service will be shutting things down. at this point we can tell you what to avoid in general. going to be sort of the southeast corn e of the beltway and all those roads around there, areas to avoid. we're talking about branch avenue, right i'm looking at a live picture of beltway at branch after newspapvenue.

don't have problems at this point this afternoon. other avenues to avoid, suitland parkway could be. 18 miles back to northwest washington. also pennsylvania avenue. again, northbound massachusetts avenue in front of the vatican embassy still shut down and will be until thursday afternoon. >> melissa, thanks so much. you're going to be with us throughout the evening and of course every morning on "news 4 today" so you can plan your day, everybody out there, you've go to get an early heads-up because there are going to be so many zones blocked off, so many detours and re-routing going on around our region, not just d.c. >> you know it. let's zip back to joint base andrews. chris? >> reporter: yeah, pat, i can tell you the motorcade now, this is the tail end of it behind me. the pope's fiat up ahead now starting to leave the tarmac. but this is a pretty long motorcade. this gives you an idea of some of what melissa was talking about and some of the traffic disruptions that are going to take place as they make their

way into northwest d.c. i can tell you, as the pope made that pulling out, that last little drive around the plane, and sort of leaned slightly out and waved, i think that's what a lot of people here were waiting for and over the next few days when you look at some of these huge events with tens of thousands, perhaps hundreds of thousands of people on the street here and in philadelphia and in new york city, you will realize just how special it was for a lot of people here to be that close, some of them no more than 20 feet away from the pope in an open window having a view of his arrival and to be able to say that they were some of the first to be able to welcome him here to the united states. >> yes, moments -- >> the very first -- the first family there, they are departing now, too. >> let's go to tracee wilkins who is along the motorcade route.

tracee, where are you? >> reporter: we are right here on allentown road and forrestville road. this is the gate the pope will be leaving out of in a few minutes along with the first family. we saw the president go through that gate just a little while ago, and it took some time to figure out exactly which gate the pope would be using to exit, but this is it. and if you look over here to the right, we have folks who have gathered so that they can wave to pope francis as he drives by. i was talking to folks who have said they have been out here welcoming every pope as they've come to this base and they have been paying very close attention to what was happening with pope francis because they wanted to be in the right location and make sure that they had an opportunity to be in his presence, and for this moment, it's here at joint base andrews. and we're expecting him to make his way through this fwaet at any moment. you're seeing prince george's county police officers along with secret service out here, they have blocked off the road here, allentown road. no traffic getting through this

way for the moment as we wait for that motorcade to make its way down forrestville road then they're going to have to make a left onto suitland parkway and travel on suitland parkway and take that on most likely up to pennsylvania avenue then on down into washington, d.c., where he is going to go to the vatican embassy. so folks are standing by anxiously hoping they can get some video or some pictures of the pope as he leaves. i was speaking with folks earlier, they were talking about what pope francis stands for and just the kindness and the gentleness of this pope and what he has brought. and to the catholic church. and even some folks who aren't catholics and things that they just feel something special through his leadership and wanted to be here just to be in his presence hoping for a blessing, hoping for a wave and possibly to see him. we're seeing the lights now, so it looks like they're about to approach the gate here now. >> there we go.

>> reporter: and they are making their way across allentown road down forrestville road. district police officers there in the front. >> tracee, how long have some of the people been waiting to see the pope? i know inside the gate they've been there for hours, some on the risers. >> reporter: the first person i saw was out here at 11:00 this morning. and says that she was out here to also see pope benedict and it meant everything to her to have the opportunity to actually see the plane land. that that meant more than anything. there's the fiat. >> the fiat. >> reporter: going by. folks are yelling and screaming and very excited and waving. and taking their video and pictures. i don't know if anyone was able to position themselves for the selfie, but they definitely had an opportunity to see that fiat go by. >> it's a great selfie with you in the fore ground, too. >> reporter: yeah, i have my camera but i don't think i did it fast enough. >> the position of seeing those

big suburbans the secret service are in then the tiny fiat brings a smile to my face. there can't be a whole lot of leg room in his vehicle. the popemobile. he'll be doing a lot of standing tomorrow and thursday. >> reporter: absolutely. there was a feeling, folks are feeling it i'm sure throughout the city and throughout his route of just a military kind of taking over of these roads to make sure that there was security and that everything is okay. when we parked out here in our live truck, minutes after we landed we were greeted by a dog who was sniffing our truck to make sure that everything was okay. we were cleared and able to stay here. now, we did, again, talk to some of the folks who were here earlier today about why they were here. here's what they had to say. >> i want to see that plane come in. and i want to see that motorcade. i want to wave to him. you know, welcome. >> and we just drove about three hours to come down to witness the arrival of our holy father.

are. >> reporter: now here at joint base andrews and prince george's county, police are used to seeing the president coming back and forth and flying out of this base. but for folks today, it was especially important, not only to be able to see the president again but also to be near this pope and have the opportunity to see him enter and exit. and as you heard from that woman, it was important to her to wave to him and to welcome him. she says that she is very excited about him being here in this country and that's how a lot of other folks are feeling here today. >> the beginning of a lot of emotional moments and you witnessed some right there yourself. tracee wilkins, thanks so much, in prince george's county. >> our time right now is 4:29. right now arguably the most famous person in the entire world has come to america, his first trip here. pope francis touched down at joint base andrews about 30 minutes ago, or a little more than 30 minutes ago. maybe like 40 minutes ago. it's his first visit to the

united states. the tenth time a pope has stepped foot on u.s. soil. president obama was the first to greet him when he stepped off the plane from cuba. first lady michelle obama and the first daughters, sasha and malia, were also there. during his six-day, three-city visit to this country, the pope will meet with the president at the white house, he'll address congress, he'll be the first pope ever to address a joint meeting of congress. he'll also speak at the united nations in new york where some 160 to 170 world leaders and their spouses are expected to gather at the end of the week. and he'll take part in a vatican conference on families in philadelphia. >> of course, all the anticipation now shifting to the nunciature on massachusetts avenue, the vatican embassy. let's check back with in jackie bensen. we understand it's about an 18-mile journey. traffic will be cleared for the pope as it should be. don't know how long that will take but you showed us the flags

from argentina being waved by the schoolchildren. have you seen the crowds have grown in the past half hour or so? >> reporter: well, this, i'm going to show you more of those incredibly adorable kids, this is a very tightly-controlled group. these are all catholic schoolchildren from parishes in d.c., maryland, and virginia as well as children from the argentinian embassy so their number has stayed the same. i will tell you, it is thing i cannot show you because of the camera angle, we can't get the camera turn around that way, outside the perimeter there are several hundred people gathered, some of whom are here to see the pope and wish him well in d.c. others have protest signs. all very, very curious about the man who is making the historic visit here to the nation's capital. now, as you mentioned, we're at the papal nunciature. the term that people use for the vatican embassy, while incorrect, describes it a lot better in terms of the fact that it is a residence. the pope will be staying here.

i can tell you we were here yesterday. there was tremendous, tremendous activity and excitement here. upstairs they employ people who are known as some of the best cooks in the area and very busy producing the things that pope francis will eat while he's here. preparing this building which is, of course, a centerpiece of embassy row here along massachusetts avenue which i will tell you is closed right now in anticipation of the pope's arrival in just minutes. back to you. >> i can tell you, that street should be spotless. on my way home from work at midnight saw two big garbage trucks picking up everything. to put it in perspective, where you are, it's across the street from the vpice president's residence, too. >> reporter: i will tell you, there's a tremendously heavy security presence here. secret service, d.c. police, it is amazing. they have, you know, the weapons that we usually see that they use down at the white house, it

is the tightest security certain certainly, i was here the last time a pope visited the nation's capital, certainly very, very much tighter than the last time. i was talking to a secret service official yesterday and he said that, you know, that is the sign of the times. and they have received so many more threats than usual. it's all -- you know, they have to plow through them. nothing specific, but it's the type of thing that raises security levels last time here, this time up like that. >> jackie, we want to shift across town to show a live picture of the basilica of the national shrine of the immaculate conception. as sun begins to set. we do see blue skies there today. this church will be in the spotlight tomorrow when pope francis celebrates mass here with more than 25,000 people. >> he'll be making history here. the first ever canonization on u.s. soil. during the mass, pope francis will declare father junopero

seraa a saint. he founded missions in california often called the apostle of california. by the way, the basilica is the largest roman catholic church in north america and one of the ten largest churches in the world. it there's been a lot of prepping taking place here. they painted. they've done a lot of cleaning up and a lot of preparation for the 15,000 people expected to attend the canonization mass there tomorrow. which will be done in spanish. >> tiit will be done. the catholic university is beyond excited about this. they've been waiting for months for this visit as well. let's shift back to our first 4 traffic's melissa melissa malay. >> this is mass ave. have you ever seen massachusetts look like this? >> not recently. >> never. >> northbound, this is a police officer driving by. northbound massachusetts avenue, we have that shut down. that closure started around 9:00

a.m. this morning. that's going to last until about 4:00 p.m. on wednesday when he flies out of town. so, again, shut down through wednesday right there in front of the nunrciature here. you might be searched if heading southbound on massachusetts avenue in front of the naval observatory. traffic allowed only from 34th street to waterside drive. as far as alternates, if you need to use mass, here are things to do. q. street, rock creek parkway, garfield or wisconsin avenue. any of these will work for you. again, to kind of recap, the pope came out of joint base andrews, an 18-while ride from joint base andrews into north sw northwest washington in front of the nunciature. branch avenue, avoid that spot. looking at the beltway of branch avenue a while ago. that obviously is not the shot. it was looking pretty typical. no major problems, no real slowdowns. another spot we were telling folks to avoid, suitland parkway. this area, again, things are moving through very quickly but these are spots where you could

see a slowdown. also pennsylvania avenue as well. so, again, going to be keeping an eye on things here as the pope is headed into northwest washington, have some additional closures. of course, we're going to talk about a little bit later this hour. then the metro situation for tomorrow as well. guys? >> all right, melissa. >> thanks. we know he's been tweeting. we assume the fiat has gps, too, to get him there. >> let's go back to chris out at joint base andrews. chris, we understand you spoke to some folks, some students at a high school today. they're going to be performing for the pope. that got to be extra special for them. >> reporter: pat, i got to tell you, from moment this visit was announced catholic students across our area have been preparing for it. perhaps nobody had a tougher job of that than the band at the dematha catholic high school. they said usually they have a lot of lead time to prepare for a performance, even a smaller

performance with even 100 people out there to see them. they said in this case they didn't get much notice at all. this was a cram session, in fact, they had band first period today and were actually practicing right up until the last minute. we got a chance to talk to them before they played for pope francis' arrival about what this visit meant to them. >> to have only four weeks, half that amount of time to prepare, we have to play for one of the biggest men on earth, so it's nerve-racki nerve-racking. it's amusing. it's a great feeling all at the same time. >> it's really kind of cool because i've always looked up to my dad as a musician, fantastic musician. i played in one other concert with him but we were not in the same group. for me to be doing something that he's doing, i'm really excited. >> reporter: that young man was talking about his dad who's actually part of the army band who will be also performing for

pope francis when the pope visits the capitol and addresses congress, so in that case, they're sharing something as a father and a son. i can tell you, j.r. also -- waverly also told me that he gets sort of overcome in the presence of priests. he said to be in the presence of pope francis, it was something he was having a hard time putting into words. he said that pope francis is a personal hero of his, that he follows a lot of what he says about social justice. they were nervous but incredibly excited to be a few feet away. as he said, i hope i can put on the performance pope francis deserves. i can tell you from being here and listening to it, they did not disappoint. >> a lot of surreal moments out there particularly for the young people. chris, thanks so much. great stories. everywhere we go over the next three days, you're going to be hearing people how moved they were. i mean, truly chilling and goose

bump moments for a lot of the youngsters. >> and the first in their lifetime and perhaps maybe the last in their lifetime that they'll ever have a moment like this. a special moment. we saw just a few moments ago the pope's motorcade making its way through the streets of washington along 17th street. of course, there will be a parade tomorrow. >> that's right. >> along 17th street, 15th street, constitution avenue. that's where people will get their best chance -- >> exactly. >> -- to get a clear view of the pope, to get their eyes on him, and we'll be waiting to see whether he jumps out of the popemobile which of course the secret service has asked him not to do. >> you know, here we are, we showed that road live. it's 20 till 5:00. height of rush hour. they did block off the roads. i have a feeling people heeded the warnings we've been putting out there to stay home from work. the federal government, certainly. we'll see if they do that tomorrow and the next day. mark segraves is outside the white house right now. mark, have you seen the

presidential motorcade or do you know if he's about to arrive back at the white house? >> reporter: well, jim, if traffic is any indication, we're getting ready for potus to return back to the white house. this is what constitution avenue looks like right now. it is at a stand still, and it has been like this actually since the pope touched down at andrews air force base. this is what you're going to get used to for the next few days if you're driving or commuting across the district. rolling traffic closures. now, the south lawn you can see right across constitution avenue here, that's where tomorrow morning the pope will be with about 15,000 people and the president for an event, and then it will be the pope and the popemobile motorcade parade going down constitution avenue here around the ellipse. right now we're getting our first taste of what traffic is going to be like for the next few days here, jim. it's not looking good. i can tell you we've already seen several cars make illegal u-turns trying to get out of the mess along constitution avenue. >> you know, mark, it's not as

though we haven't warned them, unless they've been living under a rock they had to anticipate this. hopefully they're patient as we wait for the different stops throughout the next few days. >> they'll need patience throughout the pope's visit, whether you have a ticket to one of the events or whether you plan to attend the parade tomorrow which is non-ticketed you'll have to still go through security. people have to get there early in the morning and wait for hours and hours in order to see the pope and to hear what he's going to have to say. >> you know, wendy and david are going to be down at the basilica tomorrow and i think they have to leave here just to go to a different part of northwest d.c. about 6:00 in the northern, and here we have that magical touchdown moment, folks. several minutes early. he left cuba early, and he arrived earlier than expected, perhaps he could have arrived earlier. let's take it in, this moment. [ cheers and applause ]

>> quite a moment there at joint base andrews when the pope was greeted by president obama. one of his few personal greetings at joint base andrews. greetings generally reserved for the white house. let's go to shomari stone at rock creek avenue. >> reporter: how are you guys doing? pope francis is expected to come through here any moment. moments ago vice president joe biden came through in his motorcade right down here, as you can see behind me the secret service and park police have turned off this intersection here at rock creek parkway northwest and virginia avenue northwest. there are a lot of students across the street, many with smiles on their faces hoping to get a glimpse of pope francis. also across the street there's a lot of folks at that valero gas station. many have been parked there waiting for pope francis to come this way. i'm hearing that he will come here any moment now, and a lot of folks tell me that this is a

big moment. the first time the pope has come here to the united states. and many of them really appreciate his humility. the way he carries himself. the fact that he's even in a fee wrought. a lot of folks out here can't believe it. they're thinking wait a second, the pope's in a fee yaiafiat, n limousine, not the beast, something bpresident obama is oftentimes in. a lot of them are waiting for the fiat, wave at him, see that smile and take in this memorable moment. >> just a beautiful view there. and beautiful fall weather. the first day of fall tomorrow. doug is in the storm center with our parade forecast for tomorrow. i mentioned earlier, i think havana and santiago were about 10, 15, maybe 20 degrees warmer and certainly more humid when he left today. >> temperatures there were around 86 degrees a little bit earlier today. see actually the motorcade coming up massachusetts avenue right here. just phenomenal weather. believe it or not, you know, we've seen those clouds all day long today. but as the pope arrives, well,

now we're seeing some sunshine down around that area, too. so that's something very interesting to see as well. we're going to continue to see that the sun make its way out of the clouds as we move on through the day, and really his stay should really be quite nice. he picked a perfect time to come to our area. yesterday we had all of the rain. today we had the cloud cover. you can see the clouds starting to get away from the area west of i-95 and from d.c. to the west we do have sunshine. more cloud cover off toward the east. it's been a cool day today, but still, quite nice for the rest of the evening and if you have plans to get out there toward tomorrow, of course, he's meeting at the white house as we've mentioned around the 9:00 hour with the president and then making his way around the ellipse around 11:00 tomorrow morning. it is really going to be a perfect, perfect opportunity to not only see him but also weather wise. look at this. 62 degrees at 7:00 a.m. a lot of people out there early around 62 degrees at that time. 69 by 10:00. 1:00, up to 76. a beautiful weather forecast all the way around. guys? >> all right, doug. >> thanks so much.

we have cameras all over the place. that was the vice president's motorcade moments ago. this we're waiting on rock creek park for the pope's motorcade to come through. >> want to bring in -- this is the pope, we understand, there's his motorcade. we should see that fiat soon on its way to the nunciature on massachusetts avenue making its way through the district. and that's where the pope will be spending the night. want to bring in peter laporte who served as emergency manager for the district and for the washington metropolitan area transit authority. thanks so much for coming this afternoon. we said, police have said we've never seen anything like this before, calling it an unprecedented national security event. you've got three large cities, 16 stops, crowds expected to top a million. talk about the massive amount of coordination and strategy that it's going to take and handle this. >> both coordination and strategy, exactly.

unprecedented size. the d.c. event, hate to say, we do this quite regularly, but 50 national security events since '95, 25 have been in the district of columbia. >> wow. >> so, i mean, that puts it in perspecti perspective. >> we have some practice. >> we have and have a brit good team in place with the secret service, the fbi, local police, the homeland security, emergency management folks. they work together. this has been unpress dented, though. this has been treated like an inaugural almost. >> peter, you know security just about better than anybody. tell us, if you would, the unpredictableness of this pope who loves to get out and engage with people, have contact with people, embrace them. we were mentioning take selfies with them, too. how much more challenging does that make it for secret service who aren't used to that? >> different from benedict's trip here. >> certainly. >> in '08. this is a challenge to the secret service. and they know it. they've taken extra precautions. they traveled to italy. they traveled to have that

interaction, find out a little bit more almost what to expect. and they're anticipating that he'll get out. they're anticipating -- hopefully he gets out in an area that's pretty secure, prescreened. that's why folks need to get out there early. going to be great weather, a great day to celebrate. everyone's on guard. rightfully so. >> and the secret service director, joseph clancy, has said that his challenges include the biggest challenges include having enough personnel to handle this, and enough people at the screening areas. there's so many and there's so many people to protect, not just the phone but the people. >> we've learned our lessons from the first obama inaugural, giving the purple tickets in the third street tunnel, need to get out there early, people need to get there early. unprecedented in d.c. in new york, you have to time it with the general assembly then in philadelphia the real challenge is the open-air event that's going to be on the highway there. >> we're looking at a live picture here, peter, stay with us. the pope, rock creek. this was where we talked to

shomar shomari moments ago. police on motorcycle leading the way. we'll see his fiat round the corner, too. shomari, tell us what you're seeing. we see a smattering of people spread out. what are you seeing as this arrival comes your way? >> reporter: well, right now we are waiting for the pope and there are a lot of people. you can see u.s. park police and you have the secret service helping out with this, and it's a very historic moment right now. a lot of folks are just wanting to get a glimpse of that fiat. they hope that the window is down so they can see pope francis. moments ago, a police officer here told me that the pope is on his way, and i'd say around ten minutes ago, we had the vice president come through here. yep. and this looks like that fiat. there it is. going by. and there's the pope. and people are screaming right now. happy to see him.

they have their camera phones out. many of them snapped pictures. they tried to get that selfie, but i tell you, this motorcade is coming a bit fast so i don't think that was pretty practical for some of those folks to try and get, but of course, they are trying and right now the pope is on his way to the vatican embassy. >> we're hearing he's about four or five minutes away from jackie's location, shomari. thanks for that. we hope the potholes are cleared up and having a smooth ride in the small ride. >> what potholes? no potholes here on washington street. here's a live picture now from the vatican embassy, where jackie bensen is. jackie, are you there? >> reporter: oh, i most certainly am, and the excitement is building here. the kids are channelling "the pope, the pope is here." you can feel it. everyone has just suddenly gone very quiet. they're listening for the sounds of those motorcycles as they escort the pope's fiat up massachusetts avenue. i'm assuming it's going to be, and it is a very, very happy

scene here right now as these sool schoolchildren, 200 of them, d.c., virginia, maryland, catholic schools selected by their schools today to come today and represent the catholic schoolchildren of the d.c. area, to greet pope francis as he arrives at the papal nunciature here in northwest. the pope will stay here during his time here. it is a residence and i'm going to have my photographer pan over to the front door right now and show you, you can see the assembled dignitaries. some people at the front door there. they are waiting and in anticipation of hearing everyone -- it's funny, everyone's gone very quiet. they want to hear those motorcycles. they want to be the first ones to hear the sound of the pope's motorcade coming up massachusetts avenue northwest. >> all right, jackie. peter, he's in a fiat today. tomorrow he transfers to an open

popemobile. the secret service when they went to the vatican studied popemobile detail. what kind of details will they be looking at? >> the fact that the window rolls down. and he can control the window with -- it's one of those push-button deals. the fact is the door opens and he does get out and has done it and we're almost anticipating we're going to see that here, so that's something they certainly took note of and are concerned with. >> live picture of white haven street there, too. so, peter, i'm trying to grasp, because they have met one-on-one with this pope over the summer. how will he be treated or handled differently than say, president obama, when he tries to work a line or wade into a crowd. >> it's interesting some of the comments back, he didn't want the vatican -- he doesn't want to be handled. sometimes when the president goes in, someone's got the back of his jacket. >> right, or his belt. >> or his belt. can pull him out pretty quick. that's something they've

specifically said we don't want that to happen. >> there we see the pope there, life picture. >> the windows are down. >> the windows are down. you don't handle him. if the pope wants to get out, though the secret service has said don't do this, you can't really tell him what to do. can you? >> you really can't. '95 i was working with the nypd, john paul walked in the back of the cathedral, he opened the doors. out he went on fifth avenue. you have to be ready. >> live pictures of the nunciature, vatican embassy. let's listen in. jackie bensen is right there to witness this historic moment. >> reporter: well, it is. you can see there's thecoming u massachusetts avenue. i'm just going to let you listen a little bit to this. [ cheers ]

and you can see the motorcade has actually slowed down a little buiit as they approach t papal nunciature. it's very, very quiet. people waiting for the glimpse of the pope. there they go. [ cheers ]

>> reporter: and you can see the pope acknowledged the waiting children there with a wave, and that certainly had them yelling, and is now going inside after his -- oh, look, they're trying to get him to come back out but it has been a long day. they will have more opportunity to greet him and see him. >> certainly will. what a moment there, jackie bensen. thanks so much. a lot of young people and as we've said, repeatedly, this pope loves children. the young people. the future of this church. and young adults just have gravitated to this pope and his message. joining me in the studio, wendy, and peter is still here. we were seeing a combination of secret service and vatican, vatican personnel who protect the pope here and wherever he travels. >> wherever he goes. and it's that type of combination. that's why unprecedented secret service going to the -- to rome for the visit, but it just makes

sense because this pope is unlike other popes. he's going to be out there. >> and doesn't that say something about also the times we are in right now where the world is very unstable and there's a lot of forces out there that you have to be careful with? >> you bet, and there's been a lot of folks with their ear to the ground over the last 48 hours of any chatter out there, and we haven't heard any. no threats. listened to new york this morning, philadelphia, here in d.c. nothing. but everyone's guard is up. >> and, you know, everyone's been talking about protecting the pope but it's important to remember that people want to protect the crowds, too. and everyone's safety out over the course of the next six days in this country. >> you bet. that's why it's really important that folks take the proper precautions when they're going to the event. hydrate, be prepared. have a backup plan, if you will, if there's something that does occur, how am i leaving this area? just be smart. but enjoy it, too. >> yeah, and as you said, this is the last we're going to see of him tonight. tomorrow, of course, is his big day.

that's the best chance for everybody to see him when he takes his possibpemobile tour ad the ellipse. anybody getting close to him there has to be been screened first? >> they will be screened for sure and their bags will be checked. that's a tough swrjob for the secret service. they're up for it. >> not anyone can say, let's run down there and get a look at him. not going to be anything ease city like that. if that's not on your schedule and -- >> if you want to go, you should go. get up early, make sure you're there early and be smart about it. there's a lot of people in town. the town has a good foeel to it >> doesn't it? it feels like we're having a big wedding or something, you know? lovely. >> well, what a beautiful view there. he is inside for the evening, folks and will get a meal because we understand they have some of the best chefs in town there. the sisters will be cooking for him this evening at the vatican embassy there, where our jackie bensen has been poised all afternoon. lot of people have been waiting there hours to see him and as

you mentioned, peter, you've got to get there well in advance and plan ahead of time and know what not to bring. i mean, things like balloons you can't bring to some of these events. >> let me ask you from what we've just seen, his arrival and his moving through town, it looked awfully smooth. >> it has been smooth. knock on wood it continues to be smooth. people -- the secret service do it really well. >> yeah. >> and you got to just tip your hat to them. this is just the beginning. it's a long process. they have a lot of events. there will be some hiccups for sure. just traffic and the like. but they do it as well as anybody in the world. and here in d.c. government, they're pretty excited, too. this is the mayor's first big event. she gets to be proud of her government putting their best foot forward as well. >> good week to show off the city. >> right. >> thanks so much, peter, we appreciate you coming in. sharing your longtime perspectives and insights with us. >> long. >> thanks so much. now at 5:00, pope francis is

in america as you've seen his first stop, our beautiful nation's capital. [ cheers and applause ] >> and that was it. the moment everyone was waiting for. this six-day visit will mark the popular pontiff's first time in the united states. >> you saw it here moments ago, pope francis arriving at the vatican embassy. and that was special. >> and, yes, it has been special since he landed. and quite smooth. good afternoon, i'm wendy. thank withdrew fyou for joiningr special visit of our papal visit to the district of columbia. >> the holy father touched down at joint base andrews 3:49 this afternoon, ten minutes ahead of schedule. could have been earlier. we understand he was circling north carolina a couple of times. >> took three loops around north carolina. is he a good guest or what?

not arriving 45 minutes early. >> was, indeed, greeted by the president and first lady and vice president, too, and their families along with bishops and other dignitaries. cardinals who he's known for years. >> right. right. it was a lovely reunion. and then this was a real surprise. he was off in a fiat 500 promoting the italian economy and it's a smaller car. >> green. >> kind of green. there it is. our motorcade through prince george's county to the apostolic nunciature which we refer to the vatican on mass avenue in d.c. he left the base in prince george's county and drove through the district. powe francis, again, now at the vatican embassy there. and it was a wonderful watching him move through the streets and all the crowds who got a answer to look at him with the windows down. >> that's right. >> because he's very open. >> and what a day for it, too. you know, we have a team of reporters covering this historic visit to d.c.