Bishop Baker said he spoke with Pope Francis about the importance of devotion to St. Joseph and the need "to have St. Joseph in the picture of our Church in the midst of all the scandals and troubles of family life and Church life, to bring him back into that."
The pope said the world needs the example of the Holy Family, he said.
The Birmingham, Alabama bishop said he thinks two main things are needed for renewal in the Church in the U.S. "It's a deep spirituality centered on Jesus Christ" and "also a zeal, we need to rekindle a zeal."
"St. Pope John Paul II talked about the New Evangelization not being new in its message of salvation in Christ, but being new in its methods, expressions, and he said, ardor or zeal," Baker said.
"I think the American bishops at the last [general assembly] did approve the five-year plan, which really focuses around deepening that personal relationship with Jesus," he added. "If that's missing, we will succeed in nothing."
An "ad limina apostolorum" visit is a papal meeting required for every diocesan bishop in the world to provide an update on the state of one's diocese. Ad limina visits typically take place every five years.
The trip to Rome, usually made together with all the bishops from a country or region, also serves as a pilgrimage to "the threshold of the apostles," giving the bishops, who are the successors of the apostles, the opportunity to pray at the tomb of St. Peter and St. Paul.
The bishops of U.S. regions six and seven are the next group to come to the Vatican for an ad limina visit, which will take place Dec. 9-14. These are the bishops of Ohio, Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Wisconsin.
There will then be a short break for Christmas before the next group arrives in mid-January.
Hannah Brockhaus is Catholic News Agency's senior Rome correspondent. She grew up in Omaha, Nebraska, and has a degree in English from Truman State University in Missouri.