The trip went by in a blur, but the photos will help me remember what a great time it was.

Well, not all of it was so great. We had 2:30 wake-up calls and 4 a..m. wake-up calls, but that’s part of the game.

Some valuable advice I was given early on my career was this: eat, sleep and use the bathroom every chance you get, because you’ll never know when another will come. I thought of that when we were reporting from in front of St. Patrick’s Cathedral and journalists needed a security escort to get to a bathroom in a department store. We were told the escort could only be used for emergency cases!

One of the wonderful things about traveling with the pope is that you always run into friends and colleagues from the past. In Washington I worked with producer Anne Marie Riha, who I had last seen seven years ago in Jerusalem. And while I was reporting at the UN I ran into Sabrina Arena, an old friend from Rome who’s now in New York. Multi-lingual and multi-tasking, Sabrina was doing an interview in Spanish just a few satellite trucks down from me. Sabrina and her husband are doing their best to reverse Italy’s population problems, as they now have five kids. The children were with her parents right down the street from the UN, and I saw the smallest three for the first time.

(From left to right)

• New York’s Finest
• Producers Anne Marie Riha and Stacy Hickman with make-up artist Mary-Ellen Tasillo.
• Nationals Park at the start of the Mass
• Sabrina Arena and Company
• Paul Alvarez, Harriet Taylor and Woody outside St. Patrick’s

I can’t believe the pope’s visit to the U.S. is almost over. It has been an amazing trip for the Holy Father that has been so well received. I was only able to be at two of the events, the visit to St. Joseph’s Church Friday, and to the St. Joseph’s Seminary Youth Rally yesterday.

We had a tremendous staff that worked very hard to bring you the best pictures, give you the most amazing access, and provide educated, well rounded commentary, and I am so proud to have worked with them all on this historic Papal event. I put together a little photo album here, with lots of behind the scenes shots.

You will see New York FOX 5 anchor Dari Alexander, Fox cameramen Tommy Chiu and Rob Ginnane, FOX Religion Correspondent Lauren Green, and FOX’s Father Jonathan Morris in some of the shots. One person I wish I caught in action was our weekend producer Ellen Fleysher - she at times runs around so fast it’s hard to catch up with her, which may be why her nickname is “Flash.” Our coordinating producer Melanie Schuman was also working extremely hard behind the scenes, and was responsible for setting up all of our live shots all over New York, no small task!

I also took a few short video clips from our position inside the media pen — at one point, we had a front row seat for the Popemobile, as it drove right in front of our live shot. Check out all the secret service running with it…

and just to show you this screaming crowd can go from “zero to 60″ (or the other way around in this case) on the volume scale, listen as the massive crowd pays close attention to every word during the pope’s speech

It’s only been five days but this visit by Pope Benedict XVI seems a world apart from when he arrived.

On Tuesday, we didn’t know what to expect when he stepped off the plane. Now that we’ve seen him — the Shepherd One, this German nicknamed “God’s Rottweiler” — and heard his voice, witnessed his smile and incredible humility, he has become someone so close to us all.

I’m writing this at 8 a.m. from the media positions at Yankee stadium. After getting back from St. Joseph’s seminary at 9:30 last night, we had to be back at the media check in in midtown Manhattan at 3:45 a.m. this morning. The Mass begins here at Yankee in several hours.

The Mass will be the pontiff’s last big event in America. We hope it’s not the last ever, but it could be. Six days ago that fact was just information. Today that same fact saddens my heart, to think that this man who has become one of us may never grace us with his company again.

It’s gray and chilly this morning, almost as if even the weather is mirroring the mood of the moment. A sorrowful sigh at having to say goodbye to a new friend than in a short few days has become a trusted companion.

What a thrill it is to be on the grounds of St. Joseph’s Seminary watching Pope Benedict arrive to the screams of over 25,000 young people. They are waiving their yellow and white scarves in the air in circles, creating a sea of spinning Papal flag colors to welcome the Holy Father.

This feels familiar. Screaming fans … the buildup to the “main event” … it has felt like a rock concert all day, and it has been with over a dozen acts performing for the crowd. A rapping priest, former American Idol star Kelly Clarkson and synchronized dancers have been delighting the masses, but now that the pope is here and on stage … it’s all about the message he brings.

The pope addressed 50 disabled youths and their caretakers before he made his grand entrance via Popemobile — We have heard from the other side of the seminary, that many of the parents on hand were moved to tears. We have amazing team coverage of this historic event

As you’ve been reading here on the blogs… Father Jonathan Morris is here, along with our FOX News Correspondent Lauren Green.

I am mostly behind the scenes here providing color of the event, and am listening to their ongoing analysis and am positively riveted to their words.

This is one memorable moment. I had our Coordinating Producer Melanie Schuman take a picture of us while we were all waiting for the Pope’s arrival… more to come

Update!

The Pope just started speaking… here’s a quick clip..

Father Jonathan Morris and I are finally on site at the Youth Rally in Yonkers, N.Y. And, I think we can honestly say that we’re grateful to be here, after a wild bus ride from the big media security checkpoint in midtown Manhattan.

What should have been a 20 minute ride turned into an hour and a half journey. The secret service apparently didn’t check the route map well enough and didn’t realize that the West Side parkway bridges were too low for three tour buses (that were carrying hundreds of members of the media) to pass underneath!

The bus tied up traffic for at least 30 minutes as police stopped the flow of cars so the buses could back up about a 100 or so yards to exit and go around the overpass. Then, the narrow access road had no outlet to accommodate the buses. We had to make a U-turn in the intersection to go back to the parkway, enter after the low bridge and then on our way again.

Needless to say, we were late.

There are already thousand of young people from the various surrounding dioceses here.  Stay tuned — I’ll be writing all afternoon.

2:18: I’ve always wanted to see the Popemobile. But as the pope passed by to applause and cheers of “Benedicto! Benedicto! Benedicto!” I couldn’t help but feel a little sad. It’s unfortunate that bulletproof glass is a necessary evil for a man who says he’s on a mission to spread peace.

12:35: I grew up going to church every Sunday. Mom and Dad would get the four of us kids dressed up for the 10 a.m. mass. If we were lucky they’d buy us doughnuts from the CYO afterward.

I am not a regular churchgoer now, but the mass is still very familiar to me. There is such uniformity that no matter where in the world you are, if you find yourself in a Catholic mass, you can’t help but feel like you’re home.

It was like that for me today while sitting outside St Patrick’s Cathedral, observing, as part of the media. Audio of the pope saying mass was pumped out through speakers, so I was able to follow along while working.

Throughout it, I heard certain cues and knew when it was time to kneel, stand or make the sign of the cross. But nothing struck me more than when it was time for the sign of peace. I instinctively looked to my left and right to shake someone’s hand and say, “Peace be with you.” I’ve always felt there is something very energizing about that part of the mass, as you hug and kiss your family and shake the hands of any stranger within reach.

I saw that energy in the faces of all the faithful lined up outside of the Cathedral, listening to the mass they know so well … just like me.

8:13 am: Some of us in the media have been here since 3 p.m. yesterday and all through the night, preparing for the pope’s arrival at St Patrick’s Cathedral.

Thousands of people are lined up for blocks to catch a glimpse of the pope — Bill Hemmer and the rest of us crew have a front row seat.

The bishops who will be attending the mass just arrived.

What whirlwind trip the Holy Father is making through the United States.

A two-city tour seems more like a 20 city extravaganza. As I mentioned before the pope seems to be revealing a different side, with this effervescent personality that’s emerging. As Greg Burke so aptly put, the pontiff is having his “John Paul moments”! In fact, it’s more than a moment. Kissing babies, waving to the crowds, skirting the secret service to shake a few hands … it’s amazing.

But all that has not stopped the pope from making some very surprising and serious gestures. Yesterday he secretly met with three victims of priest sexual abuse. The meeting was so secret, the press person from the Boston Archdiocese didn’t find out till 2 a.m. of the day it happened (the victims were all from the Boston area). The Washington Archdiocese and USCCB (United States Council of Catholic Bishops) press persons found out from the news reports after Father Lombardi, the Vatican spokesperson, gave a couple of interviews. There were print photographers at the papal nuncio’s residents waiting for the pope to head out to another planned event, and didn’t know that the folks entering casually in the afternoon, were abuse victims getting a private meeting with the Holy Father! Amazing!

But it just shows us that the unprecedented frankness and openness with which Pope Benedict began on the flight over, was no accident. In fact I’ve been told the pope himself asked to meet with victims. Now other reports say Boston’s Cardinal Sean O’Malley pressured the pontiff or at least urged him to meet with victims. So we may never know for sure. But I can speculate that because Pope Benedict, as Cardinal Ratzinger and the Vatican’s chief theologian, and saw hundreds, if not thousands, of these cases come ac cross his desk over the years, he would have a much more personal connection to the cases than John Paul II. In fact it was Cardinal Ratzinger who was responsible for adding sexual sins against minors, to the list of grievous sins that could be committed by a priest.

And, yes, the church didn’t do enough and responded too slowly or not at all. But Cardinal William Levada, who is now the vatican’s chief theologian and an American, said this afternoon at TIME Magazine luncheon, that if the majority of bishops in charge had known what they know now , “they would have acted differently”. Let’s hope so.

For no at least, it seems the tide has changed and the abuse scandal will not be swept away, allowing for the healing truly to begin.

Secret service, NYPD, undercover agents.. they are everywhere outside St. Joseph’s Church in Yorkville.

I am sitting right across the street behind metal barricades along with many other reporters and cameramen anticipating the pope’s arrival later this afternoon. It is a very warm day here in New York, and the sun is beating down on the concrete - which is making it feel like we are all sitting in a ceramic kiln.

All eyes are pointed to the sky, watching for the sun to make it’s way past the top of the Church’s building to create more shade.

The excitement for the pope’s arrival is tangible. Many curious people are standing at the end of the barricaded block craning their necks as they try to eyeball the action… which really hasn’t started yet.

The pope is still hours away from arrival, but security is extremely tight. We aren’t allowed to move beyond our designated few feet outlined by the Secret Service — in fact, I just got yelled at for trying to get close to the barricade at the end of the block so I could take pictures of the people hanging over the metal gates. So, with that, I give you the only pictures I have been able to take so far.

New York’s Cardinal Edward Egan just showed up just a few minutes ago….

our camera man Tommy Chiu is ready for action,

And, no doubt recognize this person, my new friend - Dari Alexander, New York Fox 5, 6 p.m. anchor, we are using the steps of a walk up apartment right now as a working office!

Update: 6pm The Pope is here — and his followers are elated. This is the first Christian event for the Pope in New York, as he meets Protestant and Orthodox and Catholic leaders. Pope Benedict has said that he believes that there is too much division among Christian religions.. and that he hopes that he can help bring everyone closer together with a common understanding with his visit.

Can you imagine what it must have been like for this mother to have the Pope walk up and kiss her child as he entered the Church? Unbelievable, of course. Her name is Amy Carillo and that is her daughter Ashley who turns 8 months old tomorrow… what a gift.

With a huge day behind him, the Pope was off with his Papal entourage into the New York night, to meet up with a group of U. S. Cardinals and advisers for a special dinner, and I’m sure some much needed rest. Tomorrow, it’s off to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, followed by a “Popemobile Parade”, and a visit to St. Joseph’s Seminary where we will be bringing you more live reports

Stay tuned!

We begin live coverage at 10:45am today of Pope Benedict’s speech to the General Assembly of the United Nations. This speech was the original purpose for the Pope’s visit to the United States and its importance cannot be overstated. He has spent long hours preparing his talk and every word will be his own.

The visit to the U.N. coincides with the sixtieth anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. You can read it here – the whole document is there.  It is short and to the point and in my opinion it is the most important international document ever to have been signed. After the horrors of World War II, the General Assembly of the United Nations came together and declared that in order to avoid repeating the atrocities of the 20th century, the world community must declare together that human rights are universal and their foundation is based not on democratic vote, or even worse, on the decision of whoever is the most powerful, but on an inherent dignity with which we have been endowed.

We will be explaining more about this on television in just a few moments (10:45am).

Get ready for a speech that will go down in history. His ideas are deep, novel, and of consequence to all of us no matter our religious affiliation.

I want to hear what you think. Post a comment. I will read them all.

God bless, Father Jonathan

Father Jonathan Morris is the author of the new book, “The Promise: God’s Purpose and Plan for when Life Hurts”

Good morning from a box seat in National Park baseball stadium. I am in the “FOX box” overlooking what normally serves as home plate; today it is covered with the papal crest. It is 10:00am and the stadium is packed. Fifty thousand Christians are here to accompany Pope Benedict XVI in his first event open to the masses (pun intended).

With so much on the docket today, I don’t want us to overlook the content of the Pope’s address to the America bishops yesterday. This was his occasion to give marching orders—and a shot of encouragement—to his local leaders.

Once again, no punches were pulled—clarity of thought and expression dipped in and dripping with kindness. That’s this man’s way.

I hate to try to summarize the talk for you because whenever he speaks, unlike other popes in the past (even the great John Paul II) his language is always simple and accessible. He gets down to brass tacks almost immediately. I think it’s fair to say that if John Paul II was the pope of television (his smile, his grandeur gestures, his warmth), Benedict is the pope of the Internet. Once you read him, you know him.

But just in case you don’t read the whole speech, below are some key paragraphs, in the Pope’s own words.

If you have questions or comments, please take a moment to post them on this live blog. I read them and will respond as much as I can.

God bless, Father Jonathan

1) The Goodness of the American People

“Indeed, the people of this country are known for their great vitality and creativity. They are also known for their generosity. After the attack on the Twin Towers in September 2001, and again after Hurricane Katrina in 2005, Americans displayed their readiness to come to the aid of their brothers and sisters in need. On the international level, the contribution made by the people of America to relief and rescue operations after the tsunami of December 2004 is a further illustration of this compassion.”

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