Pope Francis on Friday visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York, where he prayed and laid a white rose at one of the reflecting pools, before he is to lead a multi-faith service for peace.
The memorial is dedicated to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks and six victims of a first attack on the Twin Towers in 1993.
The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff clasped his hands together and bowed his head in prayer at one of the two reflecting pools built in tribute to the worst terror attack on US soil.
After he placed a white rose on the edge of the pool, on which the names of the victims of the 9/11 attacks are inscribed, the crowd broke into chants of "Francisco, Francisco."
The pope spoke to a group of 9/11 families and responders, before he was to descend into the memorial. He will offer a prayer of remembrance with around 700 representatives of different faiths.
The memorial occupies eight of the 16 acres on the World Trade Center site, where the Twin Towers were destroyed in the Al-Qaeda attacks that killed 2,753 people.
Pope Francis on Friday visited the 9/11 Memorial in New York, where he prayed and laid a white rose at one of the reflecting pools, before he is to lead a multi-faith service for peace.
The memorial is dedicated to the nearly 3,000 people killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks and six victims of a first attack on the Twin Towers in 1993.
The 78-year-old Argentine pontiff clasped his hands together and bowed his head in prayer at one of the two reflecting pools built in tribute to the worst terror attack on US soil.
After he placed a white rose on the edge of the pool, on which the names of the victims of the 9/11 attacks are inscribed, the crowd broke into chants of “Francisco, Francisco.”
The pope spoke to a group of 9/11 families and responders, before he was to descend into the memorial. He will offer a prayer of remembrance with around 700 representatives of different faiths.
The memorial occupies eight of the 16 acres on the World Trade Center site, where the Twin Towers were destroyed in the Al-Qaeda attacks that killed 2,753 people.