Maryland Gov. Larry Hogan, who is fighting cancer, plans to ask Pope Francis for a special blessing for all patients battling the disease during a semi-private meeting on Thursday.
Hogan was diagnosed in June with non-Hodgkin lymphoma and has undergone three small surgeries, three spinal taps and 20 chemotherapy sessions. He says 95 percent of his cancer is gone but he still has more one more chemo treatment ahead of him.
The first-term Republican just spent five days in the hospital, forcing him to miss Pope Francis’s arrival on Wednesday at Joint Base Andrews, where he was greeted by President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and their families.
As Governor of Maryland, I would like to warmly welcome the Holy Father Pope Francis to Maryland to begin his first-ever…
Posted by Larry Hogan on Tuesday, September 22, 2015
But the Catholic governor will get some face-time with Francis on Thursday when the pontiff visits Catholic Charities to bless a chapel.
In a Facebook post, Hogan said he planned to seek prayers for those stricken with cancer at the event.
After two-and-a-half days in the nation’s capital, the pope heads to New York on Thursday evening and then goes to Philadelphia for the weekend.
This story originally appeared on NBCNews.com
Tracy Connor