Early Saturday morning, Pope Francis will be flying from New York to Philadelphia to take part in the World Meeting of Families, which began earlier this week.
The Pope’s arrival is eagerly awaited in the city where later in the day he will celebrate Mass at Philadelphia’s Cathedral for clergy and religious.
“Everybody is really thrilled about the arrival of the Holy Father here in Philadelphia,” said John Boyden, a parishioner at St Edmond’s Parish in the city. “It is a spectacular feeling that’s in the air right now. Just walking through centre city Philadelphia, I’ve been able to feel this thrill, this kind of excitement building over this past month – but especially in the past couple of days, it’s really, really getting exciting for everybody who wants to come and see the Holy Father, and I think it’s going to be a huge success.”
John spoke with Vatican Radio about his feelings about the Pope. “I would want to meet the Holy Father, and just tell him how much I admire him, and what a wonderful face that he has put on the Church,” he said. “I know so many of my friends are really excited about Pope Francis, and they’ve taken in the Church and in the Holy Father, and . . . they like the fact that he’s so very open and approachable.”
Listen:
The visit to Philadelphia is the high point of the Pope’s Apostolic Voyage to Cuba and the United States, culminating in a final Solemn Mass which will conclude the Eighth World Meeting of Families.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia – President of the Pontifical Council for the Family – is attending the 8th World Meeting of Families taking place in Philadelphia (September 22-25).
Pope Francis, who is on his 10-day Apostolic Journey to Cuba, the United States, and the United Nations in New York, arrives in Philadelphia on Saturday to attend the Meeting and to celebrate the closing Mass on Sunday.
Vatican Radio’s Chris Altieri asked Archbishop Paglia if he was pleased with the progress of the first five days of the World Meeting of Families.
Listen to Archbishop Vicenzo Paglia’s full interview:
“Absolutely! I’m astonished!”, Archbishop Paglia exclaimed. He praised the beauty of the convention center chock full of children and families, saying it was difficult to walk because of the “blessed confusion”.
Asking himself what the World Meeting of Families means for the world, Archbishop Paglia said “it is possible to live together, among families, in joy and in hope”, despite the borders and indifference of the real world.
“From Philadelphia starts a new passion, a new hope, a new engagement in order to support, to help, and to promote families in the world.”
The Archbishop concluded by emphasizing the link between the family and society, saying “it is really, really clear now: strong families means strong societies and feeble families means feeble societies”.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis arrives in Philadelphia on Saturday, the final stop on his 10-day pastoral visit to Cuba and the United States. After meeting with Church leaders, visiting a high-security prison and greeting the city’s immigrant community, he’ll take part in a vigil and celebrate a concluding Mass for the 8th World Meeting of Families.
The city of Philadelphia has been preparing for this international gathering for the past three years since the venue was announced at the last World Meeting of Families in Milan in 2012. David O’Reilly is a veteran religion writer for the Philadelphia Inquirer and is travelling on the papal plane throughout the Pope’s visit. Just ahead of the trip, he sat down with Philippa Hitchen to talk about the way preparations for the Meeting has transformed the Archdiocese of Philadelphia.
Listen to David O’Reilly’s full conversation with Philippa Hitchen:
O’Reilly says for the past 10 years the city has had “a cloud over it of the most awful kind” following two grand jury investigations into the sexual abuse crisis. Those investigations revealed not only “extensive abuse of minors but also rather dreadful cover-ups by the leadership” which made “being Catholic in this city a sort of glum, dark thing for a lot of people”.
When Archbishop Chaput arrived in the city, O’Reilly continues, he also discovered all sorts of financial difficulties, including pension debts and a Catholic education system unable to support itself. O’Reilly recalls that the archbishop admitted publically “I’m not very happy to be here” and was unprepared for the announcement three years ago that his city would be the next site for the World Meeting of Families.
As the city authorities and business community began organizing for the event, O’Reilly says the archbishop also seized it as “a transformative moment” to infuse parishes with the energy created by Pope Francis and use it as a time of evangelization.The four day encounter with families from all over the world and from many different faith backgrounds has drawn over twice the number of participants who attended the previous world meeting in Milan three years ago.
Though there have been concerns over security and logistics ahead of the event, O’Reilly says the city has come together and Archbishop Chaput will be working hard in the coming years to make sure the Church keep the energy and enthusiasm of the encounter alive.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Perhaps it was a sign from heaven: a rainbow appeared in the sky above New York City on Friday as Pope Francis rode through Central Park, giving tens of thousands of people the chance to see him before he celebrated Mass in Madison Square Garden. Organisers made 80,000 tickets available for the last-minute event, which was added to the Papal schedule when it was realised not enough New Yorkers were getting a chance to see the Holy Father. The Holy Father, visible sitting in the Popemobile, smiled and waved to the screaming crowd.
After his ride in the park, he switched to his now-famous black Fiat 500L, and was driven to Madison Square Garden for Mass. The mass was attended by thousands of people who included the lay faithful, bishops, priests, religious, and the archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Michael Dolan. In his homily, delivered in Spanish, the Pope made an urgent reminder for the Catholics of New York City, inviting them to proclaim the joy of God because they have seen the “great light” of Jesus Christ and to remember to care for all those who go unnoticed in their city.
Listen to Chris Altieri’s report:
Just to get to the Garden – located at the lower end of “midtown” Manhattan between 31st and 33rd Streets and 7th Avenue and 8th Avenue – from Our Lady Queen of Angels School on 112th St. in the Harlem neighborhood – Pope Francis traveled through Central Park, the wayside packed dozens-deep with well-wishers.
The Garden itself – not a real garden, mind, but an indoor arena that can seat upward of 20 thousand people – was filled from floor to ceiling, and the exuberance of the gathered crowd gave way to quiet recollection as the announcement was made that Pope Francis had arrived and the liturgy would begin shortly.
Dressed in the green vestments of Ordinary Time, flanked by his Masters of Ceremony and deacons ministrant, and preceded by the Cardinals, bishops and priests concelebrant, Pope Francis processed at a slow pace to the sound of trumpets and the singing of “All Creatures of our God and King”.
The readings were specially chosen to fit the theme of peace: Isaiah 9:1-3, 5-6; Psalm 85; Matthew 5:38-48.
In his homily, Pope Francis spoke of our duty to serve peace by being witnesses to and artificers of peace, by proving in our lives and example the Lordship of Christ, whom Isaiah heralded as Prince of Peace. “Go out to others and share the good news that God, our Father, walks at our side,” Pope Francis told the thousands of mostly young people in the congregation. “He frees us from anonymity, from a life of emptiness and selfishness, and brings us to the school of encounter. He removes us from the fray of competition and self-absorption, and he opens before us the path of peace. That peace which is born of accepting others, that peace which fills our hearts whenever we look upon those in need as our brothers and sisters.”
“God,” said Pope Francis, “is living in our cities: the Church is living in our cities, and she wants to be like yeast in the dough. She wants to relate to everyone, to stand at everyone’s side, as she proclaims the marvels of the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace.”
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light,” said Pope Francis, quoting the Prophet, Isaiah, “ – and we ourselves are witnesses of that light.”
Please find below an English translation of the Pope’s homily during Mass at Madison Square Garden in New York:
Homily of Pope Francis
Mass at Madison Square Garden, New York
Friday 25 September 2015
We are in Madison Square Garden, a place synonymous with this city. This is the site of important athletic, artistic and musical events attracting people not only from this city, but from the whole world. In this place, which represents both the variety and the common interests of so many different people, we have listened to the words: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Is 9:1).
The people who walked – caught up in their activities and routines, amid their successes and failures, their worries and expectations – have seen a great light. The people who walked – with all their joys and hopes, their disappointments and regrets – have seen a great light.
In every age, the People of God are called to contemplate this light. A light for the nations, as the elderly Simeon joyfully expressed it. A light meant to shine on every corner of this city, on our fellow citizens, on every part of our lives.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light”. One special quality of God’s people is their ability to see, to contemplate, even in “moments of darkness”, the light which Christ brings. God’s faithful people can see, discern and contemplate his living presence in the midst of life, in the midst of the city. Together with the prophet Isaiah, we can say: The people who walk, breathe and live in the midst of smog, have seen a great light, have experienced a breath of fresh air.
Living in a big city is not always easy. A multicultural context presents many complex challenges. Yet big cities are a reminder of the hidden riches present in our world: in the diversity of its cultures, traditions and historical experiences. In the variety of its languages, costumes and cuisine. Big cities bring together all the different ways which we human beings have discovered to express the meaning of life, wherever we may be.
But big cities also conceal the faces of all those people who don’t appear to belong, or are second-class citizens. In big cities, beneath the roar of traffic, beneath “the rapid pace of change”, so many faces pass by unnoticed because they have no “right” to be there, no right to be part of the city. They are the foreigners, the children who go without schooling, those deprived of medical insurance, the homeless, the forgotten elderly. These people stand at the edges of our great avenues, in our streets, in deafening anonymity. They become part of an urban landscape which is more and more taken for granted, in our eyes, and especially in our hearts.
Knowing that Jesus still walks our streets, that he is part of the lives of his people, that he is involved with us in one vast history of salvation, fills us with hope. A hope which liberates us from the forces pushing us to isolation and lack of concern for the lives of others, for the life of our city. A hope which frees us from empty “connections”, from abstract analyses, or sensationalist routines. A hope which is unafraid of involvement, which acts as a leaven wherever we happen to live and work. A hope which makes us see, even in the midst of smog, the presence of God as he continues to walk the streets of our city.
What is it like, this light travelling through our streets? How do we encounter God, who lives with us amid the smog of our cities? How do we encounter Jesus, alive and at work in the daily life of our multicultural cities?
The prophet Isaiah can guide us in this process of “learning to see”. He presents Jesus to us as “Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace”. In this way, he introduces us to the life of the Son, so that his life can be our life.
Wonderful Counselor. The Gospels tell us how many people came up to Jesus to ask: “Master, what must we do?” The first thing that Jesus does in response is to propose, to encourage, to motivate. He keeps telling his disciples to go, to go out. He urges them to go out and meet others where they really are, not where we think they should be. Go out, again and again, go out without fear, without hesitation. Go out and proclaim this joy which is for all the people.
The Mighty God. In Jesus, God himself became Emmanuel, God-with-us, the God who walks alongside us, who gets involved in our lives, in our homes, in the midst of our “pots and pans”, as Saint Teresa of Jesus liked to say.
The Everlasting Father. No one or anything can separate us from his Love. Go out and proclaim, go out and show that God is in your midst as a merciful Father who himself goes out, morning and evening, to see if his son has returned home and, as soon as he sees him coming, runs out to embrace him. An embrace which wants to take up, purify and elevate the dignity of his children. A Father who, in his embrace, is “glad tidings to the poor, healing to the afflicted, liberty to captives, comfort to those who mourn” (Is 61:1-2).
Prince of Peace. Go out to others and share the good news that God, our Father, walks at our side. He frees us from anonymity, from a life of emptiness and selfishness, and brings us to the school of encounter. He removes us from the fray of competition and self-absorption, and he opens before us the path of peace. That peace which is born of accepting others, that peace which fills our hearts whenever we look upon those in need as our brothers and sisters.
God is living in our cities. The Church is living in our cities, and she wants to be like yeast in the dough. She wants to relate to everyone, to stand at everyone’s side, as she proclaims the marvels of the Wonderful Counselor, the Mighty God, the Eternal Father, the Prince of Peace.
“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light”. And we ourselves are witnesses of that light.
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis continued his visit to New York by meeting on Friday (25th September) with children and immigrant families at Our Lady Queen of Angels School in Harlem. In his brief address to the school children, the Pope encouraged them to have dreams, just like Martin Luther King, and “not lose the hope of a better world with greater possibilities.” “Wherever there are dreams,” he said, “there is joy and Jesus is always present.”
Our Lady Queen of Angels School is a Catholic school, set amid public housing in the heavily Hispanic neighbourhood of East Harlem and more than two third of its students come from Latin America. With around 300 students ranging from pre-kindergarten through eighth grade, the school was once part of the church of Our Lady Queen of Angels, which closed in 2007 as part of a large number of church closures by the Archdiocese of New York due to a lack of funds and diminishing vocations to the priesthood.
Vatican Radio’s Seán-Patrick Lovett is travelling with Pope Francis during his Apostolic Journey. He was present during the Pope’s address and sent us this report:
If you were to believe everything you hear, you might think that Catholic education in America is in crisis. You might, quite understandably, be influenced by the figures: since 2005 over 1,700 Catholic schools in the United States have had to close their classrooms. And the reasons are not always financial either. The fall in vocations to the religious life has taken a heavy toll in this field – fewer dedicated, unpaid, nuns working for the glory of God alone.
But if you’d accompanied Pope Francis on his visit to Our Lady of Angels school in Harlem, in New York’s upper east side, you might have had to change your mind: namely, that Catholic education in America is not only alive and well – it’s singing and dancing too.
Usually I don’t like facts and figures but, in this case, I think they help provide context:
64% of the children the Pope met in Harlem on Friday live below the poverty line, a third of them are not Catholic, over half are being raised by a single parent, and most of them represent minority groups and immigrant families. But the best figure of all is the graduation rate – an impressive 97%.
Alright, enough of the numbers and back to the stories.
Pope Francis arrived at the school in a playful mood. Greeted by a classroom of children who were so awed by his presence (or so exhausted by waiting so long), their shy little voices could barely be heard above the clicking of the photographers’ cameras. “So?” – asked Pope Francis – “Are you singing or sleeping?” Anxious to show him they were wide awake, the young students became teachers, illustrating their various projects that range from designing a more ecologically-friendly school environment to raising money for children with cancer in Latin America. They even gave the Pope a lesson on how to use a smart-board.
But Pope Francis also had a lesson for the children and young people present. “You have a right to dream”, he told them. In fact, “It is beautiful to have dreams and to be able to fight for them”. And then he game their homework: “Pray for me”, he said.
One little girl I spoke to promised she would. Another said that Pope Francis’ visit had made her feel “special”. “Because now”, she added confidently, “I’m going to be famous!”.
Traveling with Pope Francis in the United States – I’m Seán-Patrick Lovett
Please find below an English translation of Pope Francis’ prepared remarks to the children at Our Lady, Queen of Angels School:
Dear Children,
I am very happy to be with you today, along with this big family which surrounds you. I see your teachers, your parents and your family members. Thank you for letting me come, and I ask pardon from your teachers for “stealing” a few minutes of their class time!
They tell me that one of the nice things about this school is that some of its students come from other places, even from other countries. That is nice! Even though I know that it is not easy to have to move and find a new home, new neighbors and new friends. It is not easy. At the beginning it can be hard, right? Often you have to learn a new language, adjust to a new culture, even a new climate. There is so much to learn! And not just at school.
The good thing is that we also make new friends, we meet people who open doors for us, who are kind to us. They offer us friendship and understanding, and they try to help us not to feel like strangers. To feel at home. How nice it is to feel that school is a second home. This is not only important for you, but also for your families. School then ends up being one big family. One where, together with our mothers and fathers, our grandparents, our teachers and friends, we learn to help one another, to share our good qualities, to give the best of ourselves, to work as a team and to pursue our dreams.
Very near here is a very important street named after a man who did a lot for other people. I want to talk a little bit about him. He was the Reverend Martin Luther King. One day he said, “I have a dream”. His dream was that many children, many people could have equal opportunities. His dream was that many children like you could get an education. It is beautiful to have dreams and to be able to fight for them.
Today we want to keep dreaming. We celebrate all the opportunities which enable you, and us adults, not to lose the hope of a better world with greater possibilities. I know that one of the dreams of your parents and teachers is that you can grow up and be happy. It is always good to see children smiling. Here I see you smiling. Keep smiling and help bring joy to everyone you meet.
Dear children, you have a right to dream and I am very happy that here in this school, in your friends and your teachers, you can find the support you need. Wherever there are dreams, there is joy, Jesus is always present. Because Jesus is joy, and he wants to help us to feel that joy every day of our lives.
Before going, I want to give you some homework. Can I? It is just a little request, but a very important one. Please don’t forget to pray for me, so that I can share with many people the joy of Jesus. And let us also pray so that many other people can share the joy like yours.
May God bless you today and Our Lady protect you.
(from Vatican Radio)…