Dolan: Pope Asked To Circle Statue Of Liberty, Ellis Island
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- Pope Francis asked to circle the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on his way out of New York, becoming emotional as the helicopter carried him over the sights that greeted millions of immigrants to America, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said.
Dolan, who joined the pope for his flight out of Manhattan, said Francis asked the pilot to make a detour over New York Harbor.
He said Francis told him his native Buenos Aires "was a city of immigrants, too.''
Dolan: Pope Asked To Circle Statue Of Liberty, Ellis Island
"You could see he was very, very moved," Dolan told reporters, including WCBS 880'd Ginny Kosola. "As we circled Ellis Island, as we circled the Statue of Liberty, I could see he was very 'commosso' -- as the Italians say, very moved.''
The cardinal said he and Pope Francis talked for the whole helicopter ride and said the pope did not seem tired after his visit to New York.
"He seemed very, very alert and very eager and kind of sad to leave, but looking forward to Philly," Dolan said.
The pope was on his way to JFK Airport as he prepared to depart for Philadelphia, the final stop on his first trip to the United States.
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