After the solemnity of his visit to Ground Zero, Pope Francis was welcomed in song and laughter on a warmly emotional visit to a Catholic school in New York's East Harlem neighborhood on Friday.
Beaming and relaxed, the 78-year-old pope -- who is a week into an exhaustingly packed tour of Cuba and the United States -- seemed to come alive during the hour he spent at Our Lady, Queen of Angels school.
Laughing and grasping hands -- even submitting to a selfie or two -- the pontiff made his way past a line of flag-waving youths chanting "Holy Father, we love you!".
They broke into a rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In" as he made his way into the school, where he was welcomed once more in song, by a choir of the school's largely black and Latino students.
Holding hands and tenderly patting heads, the Argentine pontiff toured the classroom, chatting with the children in Spanish, before meeting with a group of migrant workers and their families.
They presented him with gifts including a book pulling together their diverse life stories, and a set of tools on behalf of the army of day laborers who keep the Big Apple ticking over.
As in his historic speech to the US Congress on Thursday, when he finally addressed the school gathering, Francis cited the legacy of slain US civil right leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
"One day he said, 'I have a dream'," said the pope. "His dream was that many children like you could have access to education. He dreamt that many men and women like you could keep their head high with dignity.
"Don't forget about that. Today we want to keep dreaming."
When, after his speech, Francis asked the congregation to perform for him once more, the women present rose to the occasion, offering a moving song in a native African tongue, followed by a second in Spanish.
Earlier, Francis led prayers for peace at an emotional visit to the 9/11 Memorial in New York after calling for a more humane global system at the United Nations.
He spoke to relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks and first responders who fell in service, before leading a multi-faith prayer and a somber moment of silence.
From the school, Francis set off in the direction of Central Park, already teeming with tens of thousands of people hoping to catch a glimpse of him on his way to evening mass in Madison Square Garden.
After the solemnity of his visit to Ground Zero, Pope Francis was welcomed in song and laughter on a warmly emotional visit to a Catholic school in New York’s East Harlem neighborhood on Friday.
Beaming and relaxed, the 78-year-old pope — who is a week into an exhaustingly packed tour of Cuba and the United States — seemed to come alive during the hour he spent at Our Lady, Queen of Angels school.
Laughing and grasping hands — even submitting to a selfie or two — the pontiff made his way past a line of flag-waving youths chanting “Holy Father, we love you!”.
They broke into a rendition of “When the Saints Go Marching In” as he made his way into the school, where he was welcomed once more in song, by a choir of the school’s largely black and Latino students.
Holding hands and tenderly patting heads, the Argentine pontiff toured the classroom, chatting with the children in Spanish, before meeting with a group of migrant workers and their families.
They presented him with gifts including a book pulling together their diverse life stories, and a set of tools on behalf of the army of day laborers who keep the Big Apple ticking over.
As in his historic speech to the US Congress on Thursday, when he finally addressed the school gathering, Francis cited the legacy of slain US civil right leader Martin Luther King, Jr.
“One day he said, ‘I have a dream’,” said the pope. “His dream was that many children like you could have access to education. He dreamt that many men and women like you could keep their head high with dignity.
“Don’t forget about that. Today we want to keep dreaming.”
When, after his speech, Francis asked the congregation to perform for him once more, the women present rose to the occasion, offering a moving song in a native African tongue, followed by a second in Spanish.
Earlier, Francis led prayers for peace at an emotional visit to the 9/11 Memorial in New York after calling for a more humane global system at the United Nations.
He spoke to relatives of victims of the 2001 attacks and first responders who fell in service, before leading a multi-faith prayer and a somber moment of silence.
From the school, Francis set off in the direction of Central Park, already teeming with tens of thousands of people hoping to catch a glimpse of him on his way to evening mass in Madison Square Garden.
