--- title: What Happened the First Time a Pope Visited the U.S.? description: Why Pope Paul VI met with President Johnson in a hotel rather than at the White House canonical: https://time.com/4042433/paul-vi-lbj-1965/ author: Lily Rothman article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-21T15:15:51.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:34.904Z article:section: History og:title: What Happened the First Time a Pope Visited the U.S.? og:description: Pope Paul VI and President Lyndon Johnson wound up meeting in a hotel og:url: https://time.com/4042433/paul-vi-lbj-1965/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7540a007e7bfe9b/6988647a5f570f695fb1d72c/pope1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Paul VI og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: What Happened the First Time a Pope Visited the U.S.? twitter:description: Pope Paul VI and President Lyndon Johnson wound up meeting in a hotel twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltb7540a007e7bfe9b/6988647a5f570f695fb1d72c/pope1.jpeg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # The First Time a Pope Visited the U.S. Was Much More Complicated > Sponsored content. 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They are at time.com/newsletters and are separate from a paid subscription.  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 21, 2015 3:15 PM UTC  Paul VI with Lyndon Johnson in New York City on Oct. 6, 1965. Paul VI with Lyndon Johnson in New York City on Oct. 6, 1965. Gamma-Keystone / Getty Images  by [Lily Rothman](https://time.com/author/lily-rothman/)  ## Lily Rothman Rothman is managing editor at TIME. Sep 21, 2015 3:15 PM UTC As the the world will see clearly this week, the United States knows how to make a big deal out of a papal visit. When Pope Francis arrives in Washington, D.C. Tuesday, it will begin [days of fanfare](http://time.com/3941278/pope-francis-us-trip-schedule/) everywhere from the White House to the United Nations. Things were far more complicated when the first-ever papal visit to the U.S. took place almost exactly 50 years ago. In 1965, Pope Paul VI planned a trip to New York in order to address the then-relatively-new United Nations and urge peace, especially as conflict between India and Pakistan was heating up. The challenge for U.S. officials was that the nation didn’t have formal diplomatic relations with the Vatican. Many Americans believed that to do so would violate the separation of church and state and could give the Holy See undue influence. (Washington [changed its mind](http://time.com/vault/issue/1983-12-26/page/73/) in the early ’80s.) That lack for recognition meant that President Lyndon Johnson couldn’t treat Pope Paul VI like a visiting head of state. But nor could he ignore him. Snubbing the pope on his first ever visit to the U.S. would have been taken as an insult by Catholics the world over. The solution? A clever bit of timing–or political ruse, depending on one’s perspective. The White House said Johnson was already planning in New York for meetings. Given that, it would stand to reason that the two would find some to talk. Sure enough, the pope and the president met at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel to discuss how to make the world a more peaceful place. Other highlights of the papal visit included paying calls at St. Patrick’s Cathedral (where Pope Francis will attend Vespers on Thursday) and leading a Mass at Yankee Stadium (Pope Francis’ equivalent will be at Madison Square Garden). And those aren’t the only ties between Pope Francis’ modern visit and Pope Paul’s inaugural trip: the dates for Paul VI’s visit to the United States were chosen, as TIME [reported](http://time.com/vault/issue/1965-09-17/page/112/) back then, to coincide with the feast of Saint Francis of Assisi, on the idea that he was the namesake of San Francisco, which was where the United Nations was born. Of course, Saint Francis also inspired a certain someone who’ll be speaking at the U.N. in New York on Friday. ### 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  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  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  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  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  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  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  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  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  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  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  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  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  Pope Benedict XVI arrives to celebrate Mass, April 17, 2008 at Nationals Park in Washington, DC. 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