"We are in solidarity with people who have been incarcerated for no other reason than seeking a better life for themselves and their families," Hendrik Voss said.

"This is our winter," said Shannon Clancy, chief philanthropy officer for the Society of St. Vincent de Paul in Phoenix. "Out West when the heat turns up, the need actually increases."

"The most important part of our role is for the safety for the pope and our community," Mayor Oscar Leeser told media. "El Paso is Juarez and Juarez is El Paso," Leeser said. "We're one city and one community."

"We have told the story of the missions in a way that has shown them as harmonious. In reality, conquest does not work that way," said Los Angeles Auxiliary Bishop Edward W. Clark. "We see weakness in our curriculum on the mission era. We want to strengthen that."

Leaders in the realm of social and economic justice pointed to Pope Francis as kick-starting a renewed focus on the poor, praising his approach and message.The pope's emphasis on Jesus' mission of bringing "good news to the poor, liberty to captives, new sight to the blind and to set th