Beloved Pope John Paul II Was the Only Pontiff to Visit Massachusetts

The world's Catholics continue to pray for a speedy recovery for Pope Francis, who at 88 continues to struggle with poor health.

Pope Francis is one of only four popes to visit the United States during his papacy. Francis journeyed to America from September 22-27, 2015 with stops in Washington, New York and Philadelphia.

Francis was the third pope to meet with a sitting President of the United States, meeting with Barack Obama while in America. Francis was the fourth pope to address the United Nations during a visit to the U.S.

Pope Paul VI visited the United States in October of 1965. Pope Benedict XVI was here in April of 2008. Pope John Paul II came to America seven times between 1979 and 1999, meeting with a sitting president each time.

John Paul II was the only pope to visit Massachusetts, drawing more than 400,000 rain-soaked devotees to Boston Common on October 1, 1979, where he delivered a homily for the masses. It was the first mass John Paul II celebrated in the United States.

A gray granite memorial was installed on Boston Common in 1981 to commemorate the moment.

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Pope John Paul II returned to the United States in 1981, 1984, 1987, 1993, 1995 and 1999.

He met at the White House with President Jimmy Carter in 1979, with President Ronald Reagan in Fairbanks, Alaska, in 1984, and with Reagan again in Los Angeles in 1987, Bill Clinton in Denver in 1993, and again in Newark in 1995.

John Paul II's last visit to the U.S. included a third meeting with Bill Clinton in St. Louis.

Many Catholics will recall when Mother Teresa visited New Bedford in 1995.