See Photos of Every Papal Visit to the U.S. in History

  • Pope Paul VI giving mass and sermon of peace at Yankee Stadium during historic visit. New York, 1965.
    Bill Eppridge—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
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  • President Lyndon Johnson and Pope Paul VI, the first Roman Catholic Pontiff to journey to the Western hemisphere, bid farewell to each other following their hour-long conference at the Waldorf-Astoria, New York, N.Y., Oct. 4, 1965.
    PhotoQuest—Getty Images
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  • President Carter with Pope John Paul ll during a visit to Washington DC, on Oct. 7, 1979.
    Bill Fitzpatrick/White House—The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images
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  • Cardinal Humberto S. Mederios and first lady Rosalyn Carter greeted Pope John Paul II on his arrival at Logan Airport. Boston, Oct. 1, 1979.
    David L. Ryan—The Boston Globe/Getty Images
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  • Pope John Paul II poses with American Bishop (and later Archibishop) John R. Quinn (center) during a visit to Golden Gate National Recreation Area, San Francisco, Sept. 18, 1987. With them in the background are Italian Cardinal Secretary of State Agostino Casaroli (left), Italian Apostolic Pro-Nuncio to the United States (and later Cardinal) Pio Laghi (second right), and Spanish Archbishop Substitute for General Affairs (and later Cardinal) Eduardo Martinez Somalo (right).
    Dirck Halstead—The LIFE Images Collection/Getty Images
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  • Pope John Paul II in front of a huge peace dove in a New Orleans' stadium prior to celebrating an open-air mass. Sept. 12, 1987.
    Jean Claude Delmas—AFP/Getty Images
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  • President Bill Clinton points out people in the crowd to Pope John Paul II on Aug. 12, 1993 in Denver.
    Luke Frazza—AFP/Getty Images
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  • Frank Rocha of Amarillo, Tex., weeps as he is blessed by Pope John Paul II at Denver's Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on Aug. 14, 1993.
    Pool—AFP/Getty Images
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  • Pope John Paul II waves to the crowd upon his arrival at Camden Yards in Baltimore, for a mass on Oct. 8, 1995.
    Michel Gange—AFP/Getty Images
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  • Pope John Paul II with members of the United Nations International School choir during his visit to the UN in New York, Oct. 5, 1995.
    Jon Levy—AFP/Getty Images
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  • Pope John Paul II waves to the crowd as he arrives to say Mass in his bullet-proof "Popemobile" in St. Louis, Mo., on Jan. 27, 1999.
    Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images
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  • Pope John Paul II waves as President Bill Clinton applauds during an arrival ceremony on Jan. 26, 1999 at Lambert International Airport in St. Louis, Mo.
    Paul J. Richards—AFP/Getty Images
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  • Pope Benedict XVI reacts to the cheering crowd as he stands with George W. Bush upon his arrival at Andrews Air Force Base, April 15, 2008 in Camp Springs, Md.
    Mark Wilson—Getty Images
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  • Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate Mass, April 17, 2008 at Nationals Park in Washington, DC.
    Mandel Ngan—AFP/Getty Images
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By Lily Rothman and Liz Ronk

Correction appended, Sept. 24, 2015

The history of papal visits to the United States is even briefer than one might expect. When Pope Francis arrives in the U.S. next week, he will do so only 50 years—almost exactly—after Paul VI became the first pontiff ever to make an official trip to the country. The same trip also made Paul the first Pope to visit the United Nations, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.

“The Pope’s visit with Lyndon Johnson was to take place in the Waldorf-Astoria’s nine-room Suite 35-A, which is always reserved for the President. Johnson, who had spent a good deal of time studying a handy little briefing book from the State Department on Vatican protocol (he didn’t have to kiss the papal ring because he is a chief of state), would be only the fourth U.S. Chief Executive to meet a Pope,” TIME noted that week. “During their get-together the main subject of conversation, with two interpreters on hand to make it clear, would be what Lyndon likes to call ‘that little five-letter word’—peace.”

In the intervening years, Pope John Paul II set the record for visits with five trips to the States between 1979 and 1999. (He also had two long layovers in Alaska, in 1981 and 1984, but we’re not counting those.) Pope Benedict XVI paid a visit in 2008, making Pope John Paul I—who held the position for about a month before his untimely death—the only pope in the last half-century not to come to the U.S. during his tenure.

Read TIME’s 1965 coverage of Paul VI’s visit, here in the TIME Vault: When in New York

Correction: A caption in the original version of this gallery misstated where Pope John Paul II was photographed in San Francisco. It was at Golden Gate National Recreation Area.

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Write to Lily Rothman at lily.rothman@time.com.

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