Pope Francis to Meet Privately With John Boehner

Pope Francis will have a private one-on-one meeting with House Speaker John Boehner when the Pope visits Washington, D.C. this month.

After the Sept. 24 meeting, Congress leaders will join Boehner in welcoming the Pope before he addresses a joint session of Congress.

Boehner is one of the highest-ranking Catholic politicians in the U.S. aside from Vice President Joe Biden. As Politico reports, Boehner has been trying to get a pope to visit Capitol Hill for more than 20 years.

Pope Francis is expected to speak for about 20 minutes to Congress. Lots of planning has gone into his trip, reportedly including a recent practice run of his visit involving more than 100 people at the Capitol.