On September 24, 2015, Pope Francis became the first pontiff to address a joint meeting of Congress. He discussed controversial political issues, such as the death penalty, climate change, family and marriage.

He also cited the Golden Rule, “do unto others as you would have them do unto you,” to encourage compassion and aid for the recent influx of Syrian refugees. He stated that “The Golden Rule also reminds us of our responsibility to protect and defend human life at every stage of its development.” In agreement, Riya Patel, a senior at Lugo, feels that he is a good Pope and stated that his “compassion is refreshing during times like these.”

Lawmakers were not supposed to applaud until the end of his speech, to not interrupt the pontiff’s speech, but ended up interrupting him on more than thirty occasions, as well as giving him a standing ovation. After his speech, the pope moved to the capital balcony to say “God bless America” to the 50,000 people that were watching his speech outside on monitors. The pontiff’s speech was so moving, that it had John Boehner, a U.S Representative from Ohio, crying.

The pope also visited St. Patrick’s Church to have lunch with and bless the 300 homeless and volunteers of Catholic Charities. Mr. Sedey, Lugo’s U.S Government teacher, said that Pope Francis is “definitely a ‘people’s Pope’ and that’s a good quality, since he did good deeds like washing the feet of the women in prison.” 

Pope Francis plans to return to Rome on Sunday, September 27, 2015.