
The mind of the nation is attune to the things of the Church for the eyes of the nation are upon the visit of the Bishop of Rome. Therefore, let us pray.
O God, our Father, who hast made of one faith all of the saints of thy one, holy, catholic, and apostolic Church, and didst send thy blessed Son, our Savior and God, Jesus Christ, to pray that we might all be one: Grant that during the visit of the Bishop of Rome, Francis, he may be kept safe; and that thy Church—in all of her faithful expressions—may be strengthened in purity, in love, and, increasingly, in her sacred mission to welcome many more souls into the safe fold of thy ever-expanding flock, pouring out thy Holy Spirit upon us in these last days, O God, that we may be about the good work of thy kingdom and, through the simple works of preaching the good news, feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, visiting the prisoner, speaking to injustice, giving to the poor, healing the sick, warning of judgment, educating the young, and caring for the land we are hastening the day of thy return; offering our prayer with the petition that thou wouldst remember the covenants of our founders who dedicated this land to thee to be a city of a hill, but always, first and foremost, remembering the supreme covenant of grace through that peerless name above every name, Jesus Christ our Lord, in whose name we do pray, in whose life we do we find our only righteousness, and in whose shed blood on the cross we do seek forgiveness for our many sins. Amen.