Mayor de Blasio Says Pope Francis 'Raises the Bar'

Pope Francis's visit to New York City includes an address to the United Nations General Assembly, a visit to a Catholic school in East Harlem and a motorcade in Central Park. He'll also go to the September 11th Memorial and Museum.

As the pontiff makes his way around New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio says he hopes the pope's message can inspire and energize others to work towards finding solutions to poverty and climate change. 

"I think what Pope Francis is showing us and teaching us is that a lot more is achievable than we realize. There's so much that he is calling for that I believe in and I am trying to follow his example," de Blasio told WNYC Friday. "The power of Pope Francis is he raises the bar. He sets a demand on all of us."

De Blasio spoke briefly with the pope Thursday night as they arrived for a prayer service at St. Patrick's Cathedral. De Blasio says he greeted the pope in Italian saying "'benvenuto santo padre,' which means 'Welcome holy father.'"

He also said he thanked Pope Francis for speaking out about immigrants.

"He is a global leader on a scale I don't think we've ever seen before," de Blasio said. "A single global voice for equality, for inclusion that's being felt all over the world."