--- title: The First Pope at the White House: Remembering 1979 description: Pope Francis will be only the third Pope to visit the White House when he steps onto the South Lawn on Wednesday. canonical: https://time.com/4044254/pope-white-house-1979/ author: Julia Zorthian article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-09-22T20:20:56.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:01:33.258Z article:section: History og:title: The First Time a Pope Visited the White House og:description: President Jimmy Carter hosted Pope John Paul II in 1979 og:url: https://time.com/4044254/pope-white-house-1979/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c1bd409748c31bc/6988633e2dce0112989e5784/1101791015_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: Oct. 15, 1979 og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: The First Time a Pope Visited the White House twitter:description: President Jimmy Carter hosted Pope John Paul II in 1979 twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c1bd409748c31bc/6988633e2dce0112989e5784/1101791015_400.jpg?branch=production&width=828&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # This Is What Happened the First Time a Pope Visited the White House  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 22, 2015 8:20 PM UTC  Pope John Paul II on the Oct. 15, 1979, cover of TIME Pope John Paul II on the Oct. 15, 1979, cover of TIMECover Credit: NEIL LEIFER  by [Julia Zorthian](https://time.com/author/julia-zorthian/)  ## Julia Zorthian Sep 22, 2015 8:20 PM UTC Pope Francis will be only the third Pope to visit the White House when he steps onto the [South Lawn on Wednesday](http://time.com/4043510/pope-francis-us-visit-schedule/), 36 years after Pope John Paul II became the first Pontifex to visit a President at home. That 1979 visit, during President Jimmy Carter’s term, was a long time coming: Woodrow Wilson and Pope Benedict XV were the first incumbent President and Pope to meet, in 1919, and Pope Paul VI had [met with Lyndon Johnson](http://time.com/4042433/paul-vi-lbj-1965/) on U.S. shores in 1965, but a [weak r](http://news.yahoo.com/pope-white-house-scene-once-unthinkable-084403488.html)[elationship](http://news.yahoo.com/pope-white-house-scene-once-unthinkable-084403488.html) between the American government and the Vatican had not facilitated a formal meeting at the White House. When John Paul II changed that pattern—as part of a week-long tour of the U.S., during which he hit [six cities and spoke 69 times](http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/09/17/nyregion/popes-in-america-listy.html)—TIME’s cover line about the trip was “John Paul, Superstar,” which gives a sense of how Americans received the Pope. (He packed Madison Square Garden; some things haven’t changed.) President Carter, First Lady Rosalynn Carter, Vice President Walter Mondale and Joan Mondale welcomed John Paul under the North Portico, where Carter addressed him in his native Polish. It was, the magazine noted, “a happening that would have been inconceivable in U.S. politics just two decades ago,” but was by that point a clear crowd-pleaser: --- > “” --- The President and the Pope spoke privately for over an hour. According to Carter’s [personal notes](http://www.archives.gov/exhibits/eyewitness/html.php?section=21) in the National Archives, they each drew on their strong Christian beliefs as they discussed human rights situations across the world. After their meeting, the pair emerged and addressed the crowd of 6,000 gathered on the South Lawn. There, the President addressed the Pope warmly and [said](http://content.time.com/time/subscriber/article/0,33009,916920-10,00.html), “As human beings each acting for justice in the present—and striving together for a common future of peace and love—let us not wait so long for ourselves and for you to meet again. Welcome to our country, our new friend.” **_Read the full story from 1979, here in the TIME Vault:_** [The Pope in America](http://time.com/vault/issue/1979-10-15/spread/16/) ### 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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