The United Nations was just 20 years old when Paul VI became the fist pope to visit the United states and address the UN General Assembly.

It’s a different world today, 50 years later, as Paul’s successor Pope Francis prepares to address the same assembly. While much attention has been on Francis’ visit to Philadelphia, it’s noteworthy to draw attention to his UN appearance along with what promises to be another historic address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.

When Paul visited the United States in October 1965, the end of World War II and formation of Israel were fresh in the minds of the global community. The very idea of global community, manifested in the UN, was still new. The Vietnam War had been waging 10 years and would go on for another 10 years. America’s first Catholic president, John F. Kennedy, had been assassinated two years earlier. Two-thirds of the globe — Communist China, the Soviet Union and Cuba — were off-limits to the church. The Cold War was in full swing. Catholics and Protestants battled in Northern Ireland. Yasser Arafat’s Palestine Liberation Organization was less than a year old.

Paul’s outdoor Mass packed Yankee Stadium; only five weeks earlier and on the other side of New York City, the Beatles performed for a sellout crowd in the brand new Shea Stadium. Both ballparks since have been declared out of date and torn down.

Nobody knew who Neil Armstrong was in 1965. The nation was struggling with civil rights demonstrations in places like Selma, Alabama, and Washington. The World Trade Center was still just a blueprint. And a gallon of gasoline — along with an attendant to pump it — cost just 31 cents.

Paul, in 1965, was in the midst of the Second Vatican Council, his initiative to bring traditional Catholicism into sync with a modern, changing world. Vatican II’s changes included a greater reliance on laypeople, replacing Latin with local languages, and adopting a more ecumenical acceptance of other religions.

Paul made note of the Vatican Council in the third paragraph of his address. He assured the UN that the council’s mission paralleled the UN’s mission of peace.

“Gentlemen, you have accomplished and are now in the course of accomplishing a great work: you are teaching men peace,” Paul told the UN assembly. “The United Nations is the great school where people get this education and we are here in the assembly hall of this school. Anyone who takes his place here becomes a pupil and a teacher in the art of building peace. And when you go outside of this room, the world looks to you as the architects and builders of peace.”

In recent weeks, Francis has given hints about what he might discuss before the UN. The topics could be very different from what Paul discussed 50 years ago. At a recent international symposium on climate change and slavery, Francis said, “The United Nations must take a greater interest in this phenomenon, especially human trafficking caused by environmental issues, and the exploitation of people.”

He also addressed human rights, environmental sustainability and the sanctity of human life in his encyclical, Laudato Si (Peace be With You), released June 21.

Whatever else Francis says before the UN, he would do well to revisit the words of Pope Paul VI and review his proclamation of the UN as a school of peace: Is the UN living up to its mission in an ever-changing world? How has the mission changed? How should it change?

Paul’s words before the UN General Assembly in 1965 helped to shape and influence international relations for the next 50 years. No less should be expected when Pope Francis comes before the UN in September.

— T.A.H.