Pope Francis arrived in Washington on Tuesday on his first-ever visit to the United States that includes talks with President Barack Obama, a historic speech to Congress and an address at the United Nations.
  

Obama, first lady Michelle Obama and their two daughters welcomed the pope at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington, an exceptional gesture demonstrating their admiration for the leader of the world's 1.2 billion Roman Catholics and the head of Vatican City.
  

With his hands politely put together in front of him, a broadly-smiling Obama closely accompanied the pope on his side as the pontiff exchanged greetings with other dignitaries, including Vice President Joe Biden, while walking on a red carpet laid out on the tarmac.
  

Washington is the first leg of the pope's six-day visit to the U.S. that will also take him to New York and Philadelphia later this week. The pope flew in after a four-day visit to Cuba. The pope is known to have played a key role in the U.S.-Cuba normalization of relations.
  

On Wednesday, the pope is scheduled to hold talks with Obama. Francis will be only the third pope to visit the White House after John Paul II in 1979 when Jimmy Carter was in office, and Benedict XVI in 2008 when George W. Bush was the president.
  

The pope is scheduled to address a joint meeting of the House and the Senate on Thursday, which will mark the first-ever speech by a pople before Congress. The address is a key focus of attention because he could touch on politically sensitive issues like climate change and immigration.
  

While in Washington, he will also lead a series of prayer services and masses, including the first-ever canonization Mass on U.S. soil at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
  

Later Thursday, the pope will depart for New York, where he will meet with the United Nations General Assembly and deliver a speech on Friday, and attend a multireligious service to be held at the 9/11 Memorial Museum and other events.
  

A visit to Philadelphia is scheduled for Saturday through Sunday.
  

The pope, a 78-year-old native of Argentina, is highly popular among Americans. A recent Washingtonpot-ABC TV poll showed that 70 percent of Americans have a favorable impression of the pontiff, higher than 55 percent of favorability rating for the Catholic Church. (Yonhap)