The AFP is reporting on the scene that greeted New York as his motorcade headed down Fifth Avenue, the heart of the nation’s financial center. The sight of a pope so devoted to the poor gliding along an avenue lined with opulent shops and boutiques was a striking paradox that was not missed by the cheering faithful who welcomed him into their midst.

Recent polls show that Francis is admired by 70 percent of New Yorkers, who are a melting pot of nationalities and income levels. That same cross-section of cultures turned out to greet him yesterday.

For example, Dolores Prebo, a young mother from Ecuador who lives in Queens found a spot on the street at 1:00 a.m. and stood watching the festivities with her 20 month-old son. “I am very happy!” she said.

“It was like feeling the Holy Spirit over everyone. He represents Jesus christ so it was the Holy Spirit here to reaffirm our faith," said Teddy Thongratnachat, 23, a student at New York's John Jay College to NBC News. "It was just happiness and joy to be one with the church in communion with Christ. . . . When you see the pope you'll feel the Holy Spirit that's what I tell everyone." http://www.nbcnews.com/storyline/pope-francis-visits-america/pope-francis-comes-new-york-city-n433221

“Words cannot express, it's a nice feeling. I was screaming it was so joyful," said Nancy Williams, 54, who works for the NYC Board of Education to NBC. "It's like a wedding, I will never forget it."

"I was raised Catholic and I've been to Rome and been to the Vatican, never caught a glimpse of the pope there," said New Yorker Julian Dearmas, 50. "But I'm more so here for my mom who recently passed away because she would have done anything to be here today, more for her than for me that I would like to see him."

For Sylvia Arce, 39, who is from Francis’ home country of Argentina, it was the second time she would see him.

"I saw him when he wasn't pope ... now I would like to see him again as the pope, so we are very emotional and want to see him," said Arce to NBC. "For me he is the best pope in the world — I think he did a lot of good things and I would like to see him."

His first stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral where he led evening prayer for dignitaries and religious leaders, counseling them against greed and to instead experience the kind of joy that “springs from a grateful heart.”

The adoring crowds are expected to follow him throughout his itinerary in the city which has launched the largest security operation in its history to keep him safe.

His agenda for today includes an address to the UN General Assembly, an inter-faith prayer service at the 9/11 Memorial and a visit to a Catholic school in Harlem. A crowd of 80,000 people are expected to welcome him as he travels to Madison Square Gardens tonight to celebrate Mass.

This visit to New York was preceded by an unprecedented address to a joint session of Congress yesterday where he counseled lawmakers on a variety of subjects ranging from religious liberty to care of the poor, abolition of the death penalty and respect for all human life.

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