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VATICAN CITY – When Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States this spring, he will not be stepping into the unknown. Through his many personal contacts with American church leaders and papal diplomats, his past trips to the U.S. and his ability to remember much of what he hears and reads, Pope Benedict has his finger firmly on the pulse of the church in the United States.

WASHINGTON – More people profess Catholicism in the United States than any other single religion. There are 64.4 million Catholics, representing close to 22 percent of the nation’s total population.

WASHINGTON – When Pope Benedict XVI comes to the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington for an early-evening interfaith prayer service April 17 with Buddhists, Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Sikhs and representatives of other religions, space will be at a premium.

WASHINGTON – When Pope Benedict XVI comes to Washington this spring, he will deliver a one-hour address on Catholic education April 17 to presidents of U.S. Catholic colleges and universities and Catholic school superintendents from every U.S. diocese and archdiocese.

WASHINGTON – What kind of Catholic Church will Pope Benedict XVI find when he arrives in the United States in April? How similar or different will it be from the U.S. church community that greeted Pope John Paul II on his first papal visit in 1979 or his last trip to the U.S. in 1999?

VATICAN CITY – Americans will soon have their first close-up encounter with Pope Benedict XVI, a figure who, in the minds of many, is still coming into focus.