US president Obama receives Pope Francis at White House

US President Barack Obama, First Lady Michelle Obama and Pope Francis wave during an arrival ceremony on the South Lawn of the White House in Washington, DC, September 23, 2015. More than 15,000 peoplShow more

WASHINGTON // Barack Obama welcomed Pope Francis to the White House on Wednesday — the first black US president hailing the first pontiff from the Americas as a unique moral authority.

The South Lawn of the White House echoed to the strains of the Pontifical Anthem, the Star-Spangled Banner and a thundering 21-gun salute, as Washingtonians thronged the streets for the historic visit.

An inspiration to many of America’s 70 million Catholics, Pope Francis is also a potential political ally for Mr Obama, sharing many of his progressive goals.

Both men called for action on climate change and hailed the rapprochement between the United States and Cuba — causes dear to the White House but opposed by US conservatives.

“I believe the excitement around your visit must be attributed not only to your role as pope, but to your unique qualities as a person,” Mr Obama told his guest.

Speaking in fluent but accented English, the 78-year-old Argentine pontiff returned the warm blessings of his host.

“I am deeply grateful for your welcome in the name of all Americans,” he said, to applause.

“As the son of an immigrant family, I am happy to be a guest in this country, which was largely built by such families.”

Many US conservatives call into question the very existence of man-made climate change, but Pope Francis and Mr Obama made a de facto joint appeal for action on the issue.

“Holy Father, you remind us that we have a sacred obligation to protect our planet, God’s magnificent gift to us,” Mr Obama said.

Pope Francis took up the call.

“Accepting the urgency, it seems clear to me also that climate change is a problem which can no longer be left to a future generation,” Pope Francis said.

“When it comes to the care of our ‘common home,’ we are living at a critical moment of history.”

Well-wishers lined the Pope’s route and Mr Obama himself made an exceedingly rare ceremonial trip to the airport to meet the Argentine’s plane.

The Vatican played a crucial role in brokering talks between Havana and Washington that led to the recent restoration of diplomatic ties after more than half a century.

But the pope also told reporters that he would not specifically bring up Washington’s embargo of Cuba in his speech on Thursday before American lawmakers, who largely favour taking a tough line with Havana.

“The Holy See is against this embargo, but it is against all embargoes,” he said.

Yet there is no mistaking the value of enlisting a popular pope’s moral authority and offering him America’s largest political platform.

Even the half of Americans who hold an unfavourable view of the Catholic Church like Pope Francis, according to a recent Washington Post-ABC poll.

Pope Francis will make two key speeches during his US visit, the address to Congress and another to the United Nations on Friday.

Topics will include critiques of the dominance of finance and technology; a condemnation of world powers over the conflicts gripping the planet; appeals to protect and welcome immigrants; and climate change, according to Vatican sources.

The pope’s agenda tracks so closely with Mr Obama’s efforts to introduce immigration reform, as well as domestic and international limits on carbon emissions, that Republicans are already crying foul.

During the historic six-day trip to New York, symbolic home of capitalism, Pope Francis will preside over an interfaith ceremony at ground zero, visit a Harlem Catholic school and greet crowds on a procession through Central Park.

* Agence France-Presse