Pope Benedict XVI visited the United States April 15-20, and Action News followed this historic journey! Anchor Matt Mulcahy and photojournalist Dave Fulkerson chronicled the pope's visit, which you can read about below. To view NBC News stories and video on the pope's visit, CLICK HERE. To view Associated Press stories and video on the pope's visit, CLICK HERE.

Benedict praised as candid, but visit's impact unclear
Monday, April 21, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI's U.S. visit left behind the impression of a compassionate and candid leader who has made a successful transition from professor to pope.

Another busy day for the Pope (video)
Saturday, April 19, 2008
It's going to be another busy day for Pope Benedict on his first U.S. trip as pope.

9/11 family members seek pope's blessing
Friday, April 18, 2008
Tom Riches is one of two dozen Sept. 11 family members, survivors and rescue workers joining the pope for a brief service at the base of the destroyed twin towers.

Jets QB's daughter blessed by Pope
Friday, April 18, 2008
Jets quarterback Kellen Clemens was moved to tears Thursday after Pope Benedict XVI blessed and kissed his newborn daughter, Kate Elizabeth, following Benedict's two-hour, open-air Mass at Nationals Park.

Teachers still striking on day pope visits New York
Friday, April 18, 2008
Lay teachers set up picket lines outside an all-girls Roman Catholic school in Manhattan on Friday, about 10 blocks from where Pope Benedict XVI was visiting on his first day in New York City. 

Pope addresses United Nations
Friday, April 18, 2008
After a dramatic three days in which he put America's clergy sexual abuse scandal front and center, Pope Benedict XVI turned his attention Friday to the original purpose of his first U.S. visit as leader of the Roman Catholic Church.

Matt's Memo - New York Arrival for Papal Visit (video)
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Matt blogs about his arrival in New York to cover the Papal Visit.  The first stop was St. Patrick's Cathedral where Pope Benedict will say mass on Saturday.

CNY connection to the Pope's paschal candle
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Have you ever wondered who makes the Paschal Candle that Pope Benedict uses in his masses?

Pope celebrates first public mass of U.S. trip
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI praised America as a land of opportunity and hope Thursday as he celebrated the first public Mass of his U.S. pilgrimage, but he lamented that the nation's promise fell short for Indians and blacks.

Yankees step aside to accomodate papal visit
Thursday, April 17, 2008
Joe Girardi has no complaints with changes in the New York Yankees' schedule made to accommodate Pope Benedict XVI's Mass on Sunday at Yankee Stadium.

Pope addresses sex abuse scandal (video)
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Even before the Pope landed in the United States, he addressed the sex abuse scandal that's rocked the Catholic Church.

Fans strain to get a glimpse of Benedict
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
Thousands of papal fans at the White House on Wednesday turned into amateur paparazzi.

Guest list announced for White House dinner
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
All five Roman Catholic justices on the Supreme Court were invited to Wednesday night's splashy White House dinner in honor of Pope Benedict XVI.

White House celebrates Pope Benedict's birthday
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
An enthralled South Lawn crowd of more than 9,000 sang "Happy Birthday" to Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday - twice - and President Bush said that the first papal White House visit in 29 years was a reminder for Americans to "distinguish between simple right and wrong."

Pope Benedict XVI lands in America
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI arrived Tuesday in the United States to a presidential handshake and enthusiastic cheering, a warm welcome that followed the pontiff's candid admission hours earlier that he is "deeply ashamed" of the clergy sex abuse scandal that has rocked the American church.

Leaders troubled by pope's record on Islam
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Unease with Pope Benedict XVI's approach to Islam has led a U.S. Muslim group to decline joining in an interfaith event with him later this week.

Catholic teachers strike at 10 NYC schools
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
Just days before the pope arrives, hundreds of lay teachers set up picket lines outside 10 Roman Catholic high schools in New York City and its northern suburbs Tuesday, forcing some of the schools to close early.

Pope Benedict departs for the U.S.
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
From a presidential welcome, to two Masses at baseball stadiums, to a stop for prayer at ground zero in New York, Pope Benedict XVI will get a heavy dose of the American experience in his first pilgrimage to the United States.

Matt's Memo - Pope Expectations
Monday, April 14, 2008
Matt blogs about expectations for the visit of Pope Benedict XVI.   Catholics in America are not going to hear him talking about a more liberal agenda.

Catholics hope papal visit highlights their causes
Monday, April 14, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI may not see them or hear them, but aggrieved Roman Catholic activists hope his U.S. visit this week will help them draw attention to issues ranging from the ordination of women and gay rights to sex abuse by priests and the Vatican ban on contraception.

Pulling out all the stops for papal visit
Monday, April 14, 2008
The leader of the world's Roman Catholics has been to the White House only once in history. That changes this week, and President Bush is pulling out all the stops: driving out to a suburban military base to meet Pope Benedict XVI's plane, bringing a giant audience to the South Lawn and hosting a fancy East Room dinner.

Matt's Memo - Bishop on Pope
Friday, April 11, 2008
Matt blogs about his interview with Bishop Moynihan as he prepares to travel to Washington and New York for the Papal Visit. The Bishop expects people to find Pope Benedict XVI to be a man of love, warmth and intellect.

Pope Benedict will miss White House dinner
Friday, April 11, 2008
Guess who's not coming to dinner? Pope Benedict XVI - he's not attending a White House dinner in his honor on Wednesday.

Sheriff Walsh to meet Pope Benedict (video)
Friday, April 11, 2008
The White House has invited Onondaga County Sheriff Kevin Walsh to be in attendance when President Bush welcomes Pope Benedict XVI on Wednesday April 16th.

Keeping the pope off the grass (and other challenges)
Friday, April 11, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI's three days in New York pose logistical challenges beyond making sure that he's safe. Among other things, organizers had to widen some footpaths for the popemobile, figure out how to distribute Holy Communion to 57,000 people and teach schoolkids to sing "Happy Birthday" in German.

Pope to visit historic German-American neighborhood
Thursday, April 10, 2008
During his trip to New York, the first German pope in centuries will visit one of the last places in the city's Roman Catholic archdiocese that still regularly offers Mass in German.

Catholic heritage sites dot Pope's visit itinerary
Thursday, April 10, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI will visit Washington and New York April 15-20, with a schedule that includes plans for a Mass at the new Nationals Park, dinner at the White House, a speech at the United Nations, a visit to Ground Zero and Mass at Yankee Stadium.

Generation gap shaping American churches
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
In his visit this month to the United States, Pope Benedict XVI will find an American flock wrestling with what it means to be Roman Catholic.

Highlights of Benedict's first papal visit to U.S.
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Some of the stops that Pope Benedict XVI will be making during his two city, five day visit to the United States.

Pope will seek healing from clergy abuse scandals
Wednesday, April 09, 2008
Pope Benedict XVI recognizes the damage and pain caused by the clergy sex abuse crisis and will seek to heal wounds during his U.S. trip next week, the Vatican's No. 2 official said Tuesday.

Catholic teachers time protests to Pope's visit
Tuesday, April 08, 2008
Less than two weeks before Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the city, the Archdiocese of New York faces potential embarrassment over a bitter battle for new contracts with lay faculty at its 216 Roman Catholic schools.