The Vatican confirmed Pope Francis will visit the United States next fall and he might even stop in Arizona. But the pope’s travel itinerary has not yet been finalized.
Vatican officials said Pope Francis will visit the U.S. in September of 2015. That’s when he’ll attend meetings in Philadelphia and will address the United Nations, but the Pope has expressed interest in traveling to a border state with Mexico while he’s here.
Bishop Gerald Kicanas with the Roman Catholic Diocese of Tucson helped organize Pope John Paul’s U.S. visit in 1979. He knows if Pope Francis visits the border in Arizona, there's a lot of work to do.
“I’m sure a great deal of security preparations would have to be made," Kicanas said. "The Archdiocese of Hermosillo and the Diocese of Tucson would have to be involved in helping to coordinate that visit. But, it certainly would be exciting.”
Kicanas said it is unclear if Pope Francis will visit border states in the United States or Mexico, or perhaps he’ll decide to go to both sides of the border.