Philly eagerly awaits arrival of Pope Francis
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.”
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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.