WASHINGTON – The White House has invited 15,000 people for Pope Francis's arrival ceremony Wednesday, including Houstonian Aaron Ledesma, 23.
"I was in shock. I just started freaking out," Ledesma said, speaking of when he received news he'd be attending. "I called my mom, and I was crying."
Like many, Ledesma loves the Catholic Church, but his mom, Patti, said he simply stopped going.
"He felt, maybe, he didn't belong there as a gay man," Patti McNeil said. "But he missed it."
For the last few months Ledesma has been writing a blog about his connection to faith, God, and the Catholic Church. The blog is called "The Gay Catholic"
"My mom and I were just having a lot of meaningful conversations about what it meant to be gay and Catholic," Ledesma said. "At one point, I just decided that I needed to put my thoughts into words."
When Ledesma learned the pope would be in Washington, he wrote a letter to the White House.
"I just said it would be great to see the two governing bodies that I believe in, who support who I am as a person, come together for a historical moment."
Ledesma doesn't think he'll get a chance to speak with the pope, but just in case, he already has a message planned.
"I would just say, 'Thank you for welcoming me back to the church and for inspiring me to seek a life of happiness and include God in that.'"
His mother, Patti, has some last minute motherly advice for Ledesma at the White House.
"Be yourself, have fun, smile big," she said.
After the White House ceremony, the pope will lead a canonization Mass to give official sainthood to Father Junipero Serra, an 18th-century Franciscan priest.
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Pope Francis arrived in the United States on Tuesday after spending three days in Cuba. Here are some images of the pope's North American journey.Cuban President Raul Castro welcomes Pope Francis to the Palace of the Revolution on Sept. 20 in Havana. Cuba was the first stop on the pope's North American tour.The pope spent his second of his three-day Cuban trip in Holguin. Here is he again greeted by President Castro as he arrived in the Plaza de la Revolution.Pope Francis attended the Celebration of the Vespers at the Havana Cathedral on Sept. 20.Pope Francis flashed a thumbs up to the choir after holding a Mass in the Plaza de la Revolution on Sept. 21, in Holguin, Cuba.The pope held mass in the Plaza de la Revolution on Sept. 21, in Holguin, Cuba.After first landing in the U.S. on Sept. 22, Pope Francis meets with President Barack Obama and Vice President Joe Biden.The pope and Obama shared a laugh after the pontiff landed in Maryland on Sept. 22.For his transportation while in Washington, D.C., the pope rode around in a Fiat.During a formal arrival ceremony at the White House on Sept. 23 in Washington, D.C., the pope and Obama stand for the U.S. national anthem.The Washington Monument can be seen in the background while the pontiff and U.S. president stand during the welcome ceremony in D.C. on Sept. 23.The pope and Obama took some pictures before talking during a private meeting on Sept. 23.Francis met with America's bishops Wednesday during his six-day trip to America.Pope Francis during his Washington visit.The pope presided over his first Mass in the United States Wednesday at the Catholic University of America.The pope holds his first Mass in the United States at the Catholic University of America.Francis canonized Junipero Serra, a Spanish missionary, on Wednesday.The altar at Pope Francis' first Mass in America.Serra's legacy has divided some Latinos and Native Americans.New York says it's ready for Francis' arrival on Thursday.Pope Francis (Front C) pauses in front of a sculpture of Spanish-born Junipero Serra, the Franciscan Friar known for starting missions in California, in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on September 24, 2015 in Washington, DC. Pope Francis is on a five-day trip to the USA, which includes stops in Washington DC, New York and Philadelphia, after a three-day stay in Cuba. Pope Francis added the Cuba visit after helping broker a historic rapprochement between Washington and Havana that ended a diplomatic freeze of more than 50 years.Pope Francis blesses an unidentified child beside Speaker of the House John Boehner and US Vice President Joe Biden, in Statuary Hall at the U.S. Capitol on September 24, 2015 in Washington, DC.Pope Francis is applauded by members of Congress as he arrives to speak during a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress in the House Chamber of the U.S. Capitol on September 24, 2015 in Washington, DC. Pope Francis is the first pope to address a joint meeting of Congress and will finish his tour of Washington Sept. 24 before traveling to New York City.Pope Francis boards Shepherd One, bound for New York.Thousands crammed St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York, waiting for Pope Francis' arrival.Pope Francis leans down to greet a girl in a wheelchair at St. Patrick's Cathedral.Pope Francis praised the women of the Catholic Church while giving his Homily at St. Patrick's Cathedral in New York.Pope Francis arrives to address the 70th session of the United Nations General Assembly on September 25, 2015 at United Nations Headquarters in New York City.Pope Francis arrives for a multi-religious service at the site of the 9/11 memorial and Museum on September 25, 2015 in New York City.No description foundA nun hangs a prayer along with thousands of other handwritten prayers outside Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul before the arrival of Pope Francis on Sept. 26, 2015 in Philadelphia.No description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundNo description foundPope Francis prays during Mass at Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul.No description foundNo description foundNo description found
Pope Francis arrived in the United States on Tuesday after spending three days in Cuba. Here are some images of the pope's North American journey.
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Pope Francis drew a huge crowd outside an optician's office in Rome on Sept. 3. He insisted on traveling to the shop contrary to the normal procedure of the optician delivering glasses to the Vatican. Take a look at other reasons that make Pope Francis cool.The new pope first broke historic ground by choosing the name Francis, as this is the first time the name is being used by a pope. Pope Francis chose his name in honor of St. Francis of Assisi because he was a lover of the poor.Known as the "People's Pope," Pope Francis is known for his simple lifestyle, humble persona and breaks with tradition. He refused to move into papal palace and frequently takes public transportation.Pope Francis likes to mix and mingle with the crowds and is adamant about the church going out among the masses. During a trip to Brazil, a frantic crowd of Catholics repeatedly surrounded and halted the vehicles he was riding in as he reached out and greeted followers.He tweets a lot and now has over 10 million Twitter followers, a milestone in the Vatican's drive to spread the gospel through social media.Pope Francis revealed to church-goers that he once was a bouncer at a nightclub in his native Argentina.Pope Francis is a huge soccer fan, particularly of the San Lorenzo soccer club, one of Argentina's top clubs.In April 2015, Pope Francis took two lucky 11-year-olds on a spin through St. Peter's Square on his Popemobile. Italian fifth-graders Livio Bastianelli and Davide Maria Bianchi excitedly hopped aboard when the Pope offered and later told The Associated Press, "That never happens!"Pope Francis graced the cover of Rolling Stone in Jan. 2014 to accompany a 7,700-word profile by contributing editor Mark Binelli, who went inside the Vatican to report on Francis' swift break from tradition.Pope Francis' Harley-Davidson motorcycle was auctioned off for $327,000 in February 2014. The money will go to a soup kitchen that serves the homeless in Rome. A retired Harley-Davidson designer had given the bike to the pope.Pope Francis marked his 77th birthday on Dec. 17, 2013, by hosting four homeless men to a Mass and a meal at the Vatican, according to Catholic officials.A December 2013 interview raised speculation that Pope Francis may be sneaking out of the Vatican at night to give money to the homeless. A source told The Huffington Post that "Swiss guards confirmed that the pope has ventured out at night, dressed as a regular priest, to meet with homeless men and women."In December 2013, two Boston College students studying in Rome held out a white zucchetto -- or skullcap -- to give to Pope Francis as he passed by. The pope stopped, took the skullcap, nodded and smiled, put it on and then gave the skullcap he had been wearing to the students, according to the Boston Globe.In October 2013, a little boy joined Pope Francis on stage while he was delivering a speech in St. Peter's Square. The pope was relaxed about it and even let the child sit in his big white chair at one point.To learn more about Pope Francis, click here.
Pope Francis drew a huge crowd outside an optician's office in Rome on Sept. 3. He insisted on traveling to the shop contrary to the normal procedure of the optician delivering glasses to the Vatican. Take a look at other reasons that make Pope Francis cool.
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