Pope Francis walked on U.S. soil for the very first time on Tuesday, at the age of 78, when he arrived in Washington from Cuba.
President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their wives shook hands with the Argentine-born pontiff as he made his way down a receiving line and was welcomed by young school children and warm cheers of "Hello, hey, welcome to the USA."
This is the first-ever meeting between President Barack Obama and Pope Francis after years of strained relationship between the administration and Catholic leadership.
The President gave a box of seeds as a gift and a fitting token to Pope Francis.
"Wonderful meeting you. I'm a great admirer," President Obama said.
The Pope gave the President two medallions that symbolized the need for peace and solidarity between the two countries and a copy of "Evangelii Gaudium," or "The Joy of the Gospel." The book was written by the Pope himself about the calls for a new era of evangelization and a renewed focus on the poor people in every countries.
The secret negotiations reached 18 months and it was led by Pope Francis, he acted as a mediator and guarantor for the diplomatic relationship between Cuba and United States of America this current year.
Pope Francis said, "For some months now, we have witnessed an event which fills us with hope: the process of normalizing relations between two peoples following years of estrangement."
Pope Francis faces a delicate political assignment as he meets President Obama and addresses the Congress, in addition to holding masses and other public events in Washington, Philadelphia and New York this week.
On Saturday and Sunday, he will be in Philadelphia for World Meeting of the Families, a conference billed as the largest gathering of Catholic families.
Pope Francis is the 266th and current Pope of the Catholic Church, a title he holds ex officio as Bishop of Rome, and Sovereign of the Vatican City.
