Pope Francis’ weeklong visit to the Atlantic Coast should leave a lasting impression on Americans, although it’s too early to determine what the extent of that impression will be.

Francis’ whirlwind tour came to an end Sunday with an open-air Mass in Philadelphia, where hundreds of thousands of the faithful attended. Under unprecedented tight security, the pontiff received a six-day adoring welcome usually reserved for a rock star.

As with most rock music, the lyrics don’t matter as much as the way they’re delivered.

Likewise, Francis’ words weren’t fancy. He delivered messages of hope to the homeless and prison inmates, of love and unbridled joy to children, of exhortation to religious leaders, of faith and truth to families and of justice to political leaders.

His speech before Congress was spoken in English with his Argentinian accent so thick the lawmakers strained to understand him. Even so, his words moved one prominent politician, House Speaker John Boehner, to resign abruptly after 21 years in the Capitol.

“The Holy Father’s visit is surely a blessing for all of us,” Boehner wrote on his blog shortly after Francis spoke to Congress. “With great blessings, of course, come great responsibility. Let us all go forth with gratitude and reflect on how we can better serve one another. Let us all go forth and live up to the words, God bless America.”

The pontiff’s tour of Washington, New York and Philadelphia did not include any bombshell changes in Vatican policy or Catholic tradition. There were no radical challenges to the United Nations or to America’s bishops. There was no evidence of any agenda to dramatically redirect the church.

Instead, the pope affirmed and defended fundamental teachings of the church and scripture. Even his anticipated ventures into new territory — his calls for a response to global climate change and runaway materialism — were couched in the commonsense stewardship that would have appealed to shepherds, farmers and fishermen thousands of years ago.

Francis reminds us of the story once told by the man he serves — Jesus Christ — about a farmer sowing a crop.

Some of the farmer’s seeds fell on the path, the story goes. Birds ate it. Some fell on shallow, rocky soil. They sprouted but withered. Some fell among thorns. The thorns choked the plants. But some fell on good soil and produced a bumper crop — 100, 60 or 30 times what was sown.

Francis personified this story. He sowed simple messages of love, faith and justice — and he did so with the unflinching love and care of Christ himself.

Did his seeds of wisdom fall on good soil? That remains to be seen.

But even in that speculation Francis expressed a sense of hope. On his flight home Sunday night, Francis said the warmth of the welcome he received in the U.S. surprised him. He compared his three host cities: “In Washington, it was a warm welcome, but a bit more formal,” Francis said. “In New York, a bit `beyond all limits.”’

“In Philadelphia, very expressive. Different ways, but the same welcome.”

He said he was also impressed by the piety of Americans and gave thanks there were no incidents during the trip.

“No provocations, no challenges,” he said. “They were all well-behaved, normal. No insults, nothing bad.”

As Jesus explained to his followers the story of the farmer sowing seed: “The good soil refers to someone who hears the word and understands it. This is the one who produces a crop, yielding a hundred, sixty or thirty times what was sown.”

Americans by the hundreds of thousands expressed their love and admiration for this spiritual leader. They welcomed and embraced him, and they received the seeds of his messages.

A bumper crop is a reasonable expectation.