In this Thursday, March 27, 2014, file photo, President Obama, left, reacts as he meets with Pope Francis, center, during their exchange of gifts at the Vatican.(Photo: Pablo Martinez Monsivais, AP)

Pope Francis will deliver most of his speeches in his upcoming United States trip in Spanish, the Vatican says.

The Argentine pontiff initially planned to deliver most of his messages in English, but plans have changed.

“During his trip, Pope Francis will make a total of 26 speeches, eight in Cuba and 18 in the U.S. of which four will be in English and the rest in the pope’s native Spanish,” according to The Holy See website.

Though Pope Francis has been practicing his English through the summer, he is more at ease speaking in his native language, Ein News quoted Vatican spokesman Father Federico Lombardi as saying.

“He feels more comfortable,” Ein News quoted Lombardi as saying. “The real reason is the ease of expression and that he will have to make less effort.”

During a trip to Sri Lanka and the Philippines in January, the pontiff had trouble with pronunciations and improvised in Spanish while an aide translated into English, according to Ein News.

Early reaction was tame. On Twitter, @BalladinPlainH tweeted, “While in Philly, Pope will be giving mass in Spanish and I love it.”

Organizations such as the Congressional Hispanic Caucus and the National Council of La Raza, a Latino advocacy organization in Washington, could not be reached late Tuesday.

After traveling to Cuba and possibly visiting with Fidel Castro, the Pope will travel to Washington D.C., where he will meet with President Obama, preside over Mass and address Congress, according to the Vatican. On Sept. 25th in New York City, the pope will address the United Nations General Assembly and visit Ground Zero, the Vatican says. Pope Francis will then travel to Philadelphia, where he will attend the World Meeting of Families.

A speech at the White House and before Congress will be in English, but the United States speech will be in Spanish, Ein News reported.

The United States is now the world’s second largest Spanish-speaking country behind Mexico, according to the Instituto Cervantes. There are 41 million native Spanish speakers in the United States and 11.6 million more are bilingual, according to the organization based in Madrid.

According to 2010 data from the Census Bureau, 20 percent of the residents of the New York metropolitan area speak mostly Spanish at home, as do 11.6% of the residents of the Washington metropolitan area and 6.3% of residents of the Philadelphia metropolitan area.

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