At this time next month, Pope Francis will be in America, which means preparations for his arrival are now in full swing.

According to the New York Post, the pope’s first stop in Washington DC on September 24 will be to address a joint session of Congress on Thursday, September 24. Because it’s the first time a pontiff has ever addressed Congress, this event has become the hottest ticket in town.

Members of Congress, who each receive one ticket for a guest to sit in the upper gallery of the chamber, are struggling to decide who to give their ticket to.

“We have more requests for this appearance than anything anybody can ever recall around here,” Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) said weeks ahead of the event.

While most lawmakers are giving their tickets to family, Sen. Barbara Boxer, the ultra-liberal Democrat from California is giving her ticket to “a nun who I love” – none other than Sister Simone Campbell who made a name for herself as being one of the nuns who participated in the “Nuns on the Bus” tour which was staged to protest a Republican budget plan they claimed was hurtful to the poor. Sister Simone heads the dissident group, NETWORK, a social justice group that has defied the U.S. bishops on issues such as abortion.

St. Patrick’s Cathedral

The good news is that even though lawmakers are limited to just one gallery ticket, they can request one ticket for seats on the lower West Terrace of the Capitol. From here, they will be able to view the address on Jumbotrons that will be set up outside the Capitol and facing the National Mall where an additional thousands can watch.

Meanwhile, New York City is bracing for their chance to host the pope which will begin in the afternoon of the same day – just in time for rush hour.

“The biggest inconvenience is going to be traffic,” said Police Commissioner Bill Bratton about the pope’s arrival on Thursday afternoon arrival. “The traffic is going to be really problematic during that time. We’re going to do the best we can.”

Describing the traffic jams as “hellish”, the Post goes on to list the Pope’s first stop as St. Patrick’s Cathedral where he will conduct an evening service.

“Commuters should pray to make it to work on-time the next morning,” they report.

On Friday morning at 8:30 a.m., Francis will address the United Nation’s General Assembly before heading downtown to lead a multi-denominational service at Ground Zero at 11:30 a.m.

Later the same day, he will visit Our Lady Queen of Angels school in East Harlem where the elementary school children are already giddy with delight. The pope will be greeted outside, then escorted into the school where the children will be lined up in the hallways ready to catch a glimpse of history.

“It’s so exciting because how many people can say they’ve met the pope?” said 9-year-old Nicholas Marronaro, a fourth-grader at the school.

The Pope’s last scheduled stop will be Madison Square Garden where he will lead mass at 6 pm.

But because he’s a pope who likes to interact with the people, authorities fully expect him to deviate from the planned routes to shake hands and bless the thousands who are expected to line the streets hoping to see him.

Sts. Peter and Paul Cathedral

Commissioner Bratton says “thousands upon thousands” of police officers will be on duty during the pope’s two night stay in the Big Apple, which will coincide with the annual U.N. general assembly that will bring 160 heads-of-state from around the world, including President Obama.

‘There’s probably never been a time in the history of the city, the modern history, in which is so much is going on in the religious, and political, and international world that is going to be happening in New York City in this 10 day period of time,” said Bratton. “We’ll be up for it.”

From New York, the pope flies into Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families where an estimated 1.5 million people are expected to converge on the city during the Pope’s two-day visit.

The Secretary of the Department of Homeland Security has designated Pope Francis’ visit to Philadelphia, from September 26-27, as a National Security Special Event (NSSE) which means the United States Secret Service will be the lead agency for the design and implementation of the operational security plan.

A special Papal Visit Playbook is being provided for all visitors who expect to attend any of the papal events in the city.

The Pope is expected to arrive in Philadelphia at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, September 26, and will celebrate Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul. Later that afternoon, at 4:45 p.m., he will give an address at Independence Mall and attend the Festival of Families on Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 7:30 p.m. which will feature performances by Andrea Bocelli, Juanes, and the Philadelphia Orchestra led by Director Yannick Nézet-Séguin.

On Sunday morning, he will meet with the bishops at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary followed by an 11:00 a.m. meeting at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility where inmates have been crafting a special chair for him to sit in during the visit.

A Papal Mass, expected to draw at least one million people, will be celebrated on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway at 4:00 p.m.

The historic visit will end at 8:00 p.m. when the Pope’s plane departs for Rome.

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