Just a few days before Pope Francis arrives in Washington, preparations for the first canonization mass in the United States are well underway.
At the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, Cardinal Donald Wuerl toured the site to check on the progress.
“When we come here next we’re going to be surrounded by over 25,000 people just to see and pray with our Holy Father," he told reporters.
And competition for those seats is fierce.
"This is one of the largest Catholic churches in the world and it can’t hold the number of people who want to be there," he explained.
It will be a mass of firsts.
"This Holy Father is the first Pope from the New World. He’s coming for the first time to the United States to do for the first time, a canonization," Cardinal Wuerl said.
And in the Basilica gift shop, there are any number of ways to remember that moment.
“It’s hard to wrap my head around the fact that the Pope is coming here," admitted Basilica gift shop emplooyee Angela Devanadera.
“Hopefully everything will be in place and ready to go,” she added confidently.
The constant activity is a reminder that the Papal visit is only days away.
