Kathleen Battle, the famed Opera singer, was the featured soloist for the Pope Benedict XVI visit at the White House on Wednesday.
Battle, the famous soprano, sang the Lord's Prayer in front of the crowd of about 9,000, one of the largest ever gathered for such a White House event. The event included a full honor guard and a 21-gun salute and a rendition of "Happy Birthday" for the pope, who turned 81 Wednesday.
The papal visit was the first of its kind in America. Pope Benedict XVI and President George W. Bush held a meeting together after the birthday celebration, in which they discussed such topics as extremism in Islam.
Later on Wednesday, Pope Benedict will attend a private prayer service with bishops of the U.S. at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception.
The pope's trip, with a dozen scheduled events in Washington and New York, will also feature a United Nations address and Mass for more than 40,000 at the Washington Nationals' new baseball stadium.
Benedict leaves for New York April 18, where he will visit the 9/11 Ground Zero site.
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