Pope Francis

"He held out his hand to her and she grasped his hand," her attorney, Mat Staver, told The Associated Press. "He asked her to pray for him and she said she would; she asked the pope to pray for her, and he said he would."

The Vatican essentially confirmed the meeting: The Vatican spokesman, the Rev. Federico Lombardi, given the opportunity to deny it took place, declined to do so and said merely that he would have no comment.

Francis spent time with fellow Argentinians Catire Walker and Noel Zemborain and their four children, talking about their visit and praying.

Zemborain told the Associated Press that Francis told her that they were crazy to drive so far with their children. She said it was like meeting an old friend and Francis hugged the children.

In a wide-ranging press conference en route to Rome from his first-ever visit to the United States, Francis also declared conscience objection a "human right," explained his admiration for American nuns and discussed his own star-power, which was fully on display during his six-day, three-city tour.

He also invented a new Italian word to describe the exuberant reception he received in New York City: "stralimitata" — roughly, "beyond all limits."

Even as hundreds of thousands of people thronged the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sunday for Mass with Pope Francis, his weekend visit to Philadelphia apparently failed to deliver the economic boon predicted by organizers.

Some businesses closed early, some downtown hotel rooms went unfilled and normally bustling city streets were deserted over the weekend as residents either stayed home or left town, and pilgrims kept their wallets in their pockets.

The Pope closed out his six-day tour with a message of hope for families, consolation for victims of child sexual abuse and a warning to America's bishops.

Organizers had predicted a crowd of 1 million for Francis' open-air Mass, and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway overflowed with the jubilant. They endured hours-long lines and airport-style security checks to see history's first pope from the Americas celebrate the faith in the birthplace of the United States.

The message was a powerful warning to American bishops accused of covering up for pedophile priests instead of reporting them to police.

The pontiff disclosed the gesture of reconciliation at the start of a meeting with American bishops gathered in Philadelphia for a big rally on Catholic families.

And he's carrying some heavy burdens.

There's the threat from Islamic State militants in Iraq and Syria, and the Syrian civil war and refugee crisis. Also, Russia's moves in Ukraine and, more recently, in Syria.

On Monday evening, Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin (POO'-tihn) meet on the sidelines of the U.N. gathering. It will be their first face-to-face encounter in nearly a year.

This journey is expected to be  most centered on ordinary Catholics: a Vatican-organized rally for the family that will culminate in an outdoor Mass for a million people.

Francis will spend the last two of his six days in the U.S. in Philadelphia as the star attraction at the World Meeting of Families, a conference for more than 18,000 people from around the world that has been underway as the pope traveled to Washington and New York.

The Pope then paid tribute to the victims of 9/11 with a prayer service at ground zero.

Francis' agenda for his first full day in New York was packed with contrasts befitting a head of state dubbed the "slum pope."

Francis' agenda reflected both his global stature and his of-the-people approach, taking him from the solemnity of ground zero to the struggles of East Harlem.

His visit was scheduled to include events as large as a processional drive through Central Park, as personal as meetings with schoolchildren and immigrants, and as inspiring for the faithful as Mass for thousands at Madison Square Garden.