On the eve of his 81st birthday, he was greeted like most heads of state will never be greeted. On April 15, 2008, Pope Benedict XVI was met on the tarmac of Andrews Air Force Base by President Bush, a first for any visiting dignitary.

Amid heavy anticipation, the pope’s Alitalia flight, or Shepherd One as it is known, touched down at exactly 3:15 pm under sunny skies and warm temperatures. Along with the president, many church officials were in attendance to greet the Holy Father, as well as Mary Ann Glendon, U.S. ambassador to the Holy See. Accompanying the president were First Lady Laura Bush, and their daughter, Jenna.

President Bush and Pope Benedict were scheduled to have a private five minute meeting immediately following the runway greeting, but the meeting lasted closer to ten minutes. Chicago’s Cardinal Francis George, president of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops, and Cardinal Tarcisio Bertone, the Vatican secretary of state, were also in attendance at the private meeting. Though specific details of the meeting were not publicly discussed, White House press secretary Dana Perino said in a statement that “the hearts of the American people are open to the Holy Father's message of hope."

According to Catholic News Service, Perino continued, Pope Benedict "will hear from the president that America and the world need to hear his message that God is love, that human life is sacred, that we all must be guided by common moral law, and that we have responsibilities to care for our brothers and sisters in need at home and across the world.” No public statements were made at Andrews Air Force Base. The pope’s official welcome would take place the next day at the White House.

The following day nearly 5,000 Catholic pilgrims lined the streets of Pennsylvania Avenue to greet the pope on his way to the White House. Choruses of “Happy Birthday” were heard time and again as he slowly passed in the popemobile.

At the White House’s invitation-only event, nearly 13,500 guests gathered to greet the pope with above-normal pomp and circumstance. The Vatican flag and white and yellow tulips adorned the South Lawn. Clergymen were in attendance along with a few congressmen and several Boy and Girl Scouts. The welcome ceremony was brief, but for most the three hour wait was worth it. Denver Archbishop Charles J. Chaput commented that in juxtaposing yet understanding each other’s role, the president sounded “exactly Catholic” while the pope sounded “exactly American.”

Following the ceremony the pope and the president went inside the White House for another private meeting where the main topic was how to fight terrorism while still respecting human rights. They also touched on the protection of human life and marriage and family, issues the two are very much in agreement on.

To close the day, the pope addressed the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops then held vespers and attended a short birthday celebration.

Thursday morning began early for nearly 50,000 people who attended the pope’s Mass at Nationals Stadium in Washington, DC. The eclectic and diverse Mass was filled with some traditional and some more vibrant, modern music from several different choirs. Pope Benedict’s message for Catholics to renew their energy of evangelization reverberated throughout the stadium. He said that now, more than ever, the people of America and the world need the truth and fidelity of the Gospel. The two-hour long service was said mostly in English with parts said also in Spanish, Tagalog, Korean, Vietnamese, Igbo, and a song sung in German.

Following Mass, Pope Benedict had a full schedule. He spoke at Catholic University, held an ecumenical interreligious meeting with leaders of other faiths, addressed Catholic educators, and held an unscheduled, unexpected private meeting with five victims of priestly sexual abuse to close out his first papal visit to our nation’s capital.

The following morning, on April 18, the pope left Washington on a plane to JFK Airport in New York. Again, he had a full schedule in the Big Apple. He was met at the airport by New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, New York Governor David Paterson, Bishop Nicholas DiMarzio of Brooklyn, whose diocese includes the airport; Cardinal Edward M. Egan of New York; and Archbishop Celestino Migliore, the Vatican's permanent observer to the United Nations.

Perhaps his most important appointment in New York was his address to the United Nations. The main topic of his address to the U.N. General Assembly was basic human rights, stating that no government or religion has a right to change or limit them because human rights come directly from God.

Pope Benedict was welcomed by U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon. The two met privately before the pope’s address to the General Assembly.

In his welcoming remarks, Ki-moon said that the United Nations is a secular organization with no official religion. “But if you ask those of us who work for the United Nations what motivates us, many of us reply in a language of faith,” he said. “We see what we do not only as a job, but as a mission. Indeed, mission is the word we use most often for our work around the world -- from peace and security to development to human rights…Your Holiness, in so many ways, our mission unites us with yours.”

The pope said he visited the U.N. out of respect for the organization that was founded after World War II when many governments were violating the God-given rights of their citizens. “In consequence,"”he said, “freedom and human dignity were grossly violated.”

Rounding out Pope Benedict’s trip to the United States was a visit to a New York City synagogue, a first-ever papal Mass at St. Patrick’s Cathedral, another interreligious meeting, a youth rally in Yonkers, a service at Ground Zero, Mass at Yankee Stadium, and finally a farewell ceremony at JFK Airport attended by Vice President and Mrs. Cheney.