PHILADELPHIA — As pilgrims from around the world began to plan their travel to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families and papal visit over the weekend of September 24–26, they faced several questions: Where would they stay? Would they drive, or fly? What activities would they participate in?
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For civic officials and leadership of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, however, a much larger question loomed overhead: How would the city of 1.5 million people welcome a projected one million pilgrims – and the Holy Father Pope Francis – safely into their midst?
“It has begun — the start of the most historic event in modern Philadelphia history,” said Mayor Michael Nutter during his remarks at the opening ceremony of the World Meeting of Families on Tuesday, Sept. 22. “The first ever World Meeting of Families in the United States of America — right here in the City of Brotherly Love and Sisterly Affection. I want to welcome the joyous pilgrims here to our great city.”
The pilgrims came from around the world to Philadelphia to participate in the World Meeting of Families and catch a glimpse of Pope Francis, scheduled to arrive on Saturday and stay until Sunday evening. Planning began immediately after the announcement of the location, with Robert J. Ciaruffoli named president and Donna Crilley Farrell named executive director of the World Meeting of Families.
“We owe a huge debt of thanks to Mayor Nutter, Governor Wolf, former Governor Corbett, Archbishop Paglia and his staff and all of the generous city, state and federal workers who helped make this event possible,” said Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput in his closing remarks during Sunday’s concluding Mass. “A special thanks to all the wonderful donors, sponsors, World Meeting co-chairs, staff and volunteers who worked tirelessly to bring this celebration to fruition.”
The U.S. Secret Service was in charge of security for the duration of the pontiff’s U.S. visit, crowding into the city alongside Philadelphia Police, Pennsylvania State Police, FBI, TSA and several other agencies and private companies. Security officials lined the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, a mile-and-a-half long scenic boulevard stretching between the Philadelphia Museum of Art and City Hall chosen as the venue for Saturday evening’s Festival of Families and Sunday’s papal Mass. It was not the first time the street hosted a pope – when Saint John Paul II visited Philadelphia in 1979, he said Mass at Logan Circle, an open park nestled within a traffic circle at the Parkway’s mid-point.
For residents of Philadelphia, planning for the pope’s visit required patience but promised an opportunity to see the pontiff, as well as an influx of potential customers for local businesses. Security checkpoints set up around the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Independence Mall meant that even local pilgrims had to plan out their route in advance. Suzanne McCarthy and Lexi Moger, students from nearby Villanova University who traveled into the city by commuter train for Sunday’s papal Mass, said that many of their friends left town to avoid the crowds, some even renting their houses to incoming pilgrims. For the two roommates, however, a chance to see Pope Francis was worth the extra effort.
“It’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” said McCarthy. “We knew [the crowd] was going to be crazy, but it’s not as bad as we thought. They planned it out meticulously.”
“Everyone loves him,” added Moger, explaining Pope Francis’s popularity with local college students. “People are so impressed with how accepting he is. He’s all about equality.”
For local business owners, the papal visit promised customers but presented unique obstacles, including road closures that required all food deliveries to be stocked in advance. Da’nish, owner of Nanee’s Kitchen Indian and Pakistani food stall at Philadelphia’s Reading Terminal Market, located a few blocks from the City Hall security checkpoint, said he looked forward to a steady stream of customers on Saturday and Sunday. “We’ve overstocked a lot of things,” he said. “We’ve been working with the city, and they’ve been good at addressing the issues and keeping us well-informed.”
Da’nish, who lives in the nearby town of Overbrook, borrowed a bike to use as transport for the weekend. He said the market provided two large trailers open to the vendors for storing their overstocked goods. “This might be the biggest event in our lifetime. As a community we have to be good hosts to everyone, spiritually as well as in other ways,” he said.
Michael, another vendor at the market, echoed the sentiment. Despite having to walk seven blocks to work because of altered public transportation, he seemed glad to host the pilgrims for the weekend. “I have never met a nicer group of people,” he said. “The city’s happy to have people here. This is a huge event. It’s kind of exciting.”
In nearby Bensalem, Pa., where pilgrims from the Diocese of Providence visited the National Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel on Friday, local religious sites were also feeling the effects of the influx. Renée LeMasney, a volunteer tour guide, said the shrine had received an unprecedented number of visitors in the week leading up to the papal visit, with more busloads arriving every day to tour the final resting place of St. Katharine Drexel, a native of Philadelphia.
“We have to be flexible, go with the flow,” she said. LeMasney had the opportunity to see a pope once before while visiting Rome, but said that for her, Pope Francis’s visit to Philadelphia is special. “For him to come to Philly and see all that we do – it’s so exciting. I can’t put it into words.”
Even the Philadelphia Museum of Art, famous for its valued collection and appearance in the “Rocky” movies, opened its doors to those participating in the papal visit. On Sunday afternoon, prior to the papal Mass, 1,500 concelebrating priests were invited to attend a buffet lunch and tour the museum while preparing for the Holy Father’s arrival. Father Michael Kelly, pastor of St. Agatha’s Church, Woonsocket, was among the priests in attendance. He told Rhode Island Catholic that he encountered priests from all over the world in the halls of the museum and even ran into an old friend from his home diocese in Ohio.
In keeping with his tradition for international journeys, Pope Francis closed his visit to Philadelphia by thanking event volunteers and organizers during a meeting at Atlantic Aviation at Philadelphia International Airport. Shortly thereafter, he departed for Rome, closing out a 10-day visit to Cuba and the United States. Back in Philadelphia, volunteers and city workers cleaned the streets of downtown, where life was scheduled to return to normal by the following afternoon.
