It was a day of firsts for U.S. Catholics, as the first pope from Latin America spent his first full day ever in the United States, presiding over his first Mass here — and canonizing the 18th century missionary known as the Apostle of California.
Massive, roaring crowds lined the streets as Pope Francis traversed Washington, D.C., in his popemobile and a Fiat hatchback on a sun-drenched day that mixed with politics and pageantry.
In speeches, he touched on a wide range of controversies, including climate change, immigration and — most divisely — the priest sexual abuse scandal that has roiled the church for more than decade and led to large declines in U.