Pope Francis arrived on his first visit to the United States, bringing to Washington a message that its power and wealth should be used to serve humanity, and not the other way around.
An Alitalia plane carrying the Pontiff touched down on a blustery afternoon at Joint Base Andrews, Maryland after a flight from Cuba.
In a sign of the importance that the White House gives to the visit, President Barack Obama took the unusual step of greeting Francis on the tarmac.
Mr Obama, his wife Michelle and their daughters shook the pope's hand on the red carpet.
Schoolchildren cheered the 78-year-old pontiff in his first moments on US soil.
On the plane from Cuba, Francis told reporters he hopes the United States will lift its long trade embargo on Cub a as a result of negotiations between the two countries but does not plan to raise it in his address to the US Congress this week.
"It is a public thing that is moving along the path of the good relations they are looking for," said Francis, who helped broker behind the scenes a thaw between the countries.
"My desire is that they end up with a good result, that they reach an accord that satisfies both sides, an accord, certainly."
Mr Obama and the pope meet more formally tomorrow at theWhite House.
The pope will then parade past Washington's major monuments before a crowd expected to reach tens of thousands.
Francis is also expected to talk about immigration during his six-day visit, a top issue for him since his first days as pope in 2013.
He will make the first address by any pope to the US Congress on Thursday, a speech to the UN General Assembly in New York on Friday and an open-air mass in Philadelphia where 1.5 million people are expected to attend.
Cuban President Raul Castro saw the pope off from the airport in Santiago, Cuba's second city.
The pope's four-day visit to Cuba featured three cities, three masses, and meetings with both Mr Castro and his elder brother Fidel, the men who have ruled the communist island since its 1959 revolution.
