(Vatican Radio) Just before leaving New York for Philadelphia on Saturday morning, Pope Francis flew over the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island, where millions of immigrants first set foot on American soil.
In a briefing for journalists in Philadelphia, Fr Federico Lombardi said the Pope travelled by helicopter from Downtown Manhattan to JFK airport, accompanied by the Archbishop of New York, Cardinal Timothy Dolan who pointed out the famous landmarks. The small island in the bay of New York, was the gateway for immigrants from all over the world who passed through the nation’s busiest immigrant inspection station from 1892 until 1954.
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Fr Lombardi also told journalists the Pope went into the cockpit of the plane headed for Philadelphia to watch the pilots coming into land on the last leg of his week-long U.S. visit.
The director of the Holy See press office said at times Pope Francis finds the action-packed schedule for the visit tiring, exacerbated by the pain in his legs, for which he receives regular physiotherapy.
Looking ahead to the key events that will mark the conclusion of the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, Fr Lombardi said the focus on the family has been a primary goal of the 10 day journey. He noted the Pope has spoken about the subject in Santiago de Cuba, at the White House, to the American bishops, to Congress and to the United Nations.
Asked whether Pope Francis may meet with survivors of clerical sex abuse before the end of the visit, Fr Lombardi said if such an encounter does happen it will only be announced after it has taken place.
Also answering journalists questions at the press office in Philadelphia on Saturday was the head of the U.S. bishops conference, Archbishop Joseph Kurtz, who shared his thoughts on the key message that the Pope is bringing to the Church in the United States…
“He seems to be saying you basically will find your identity in the manner in which you care for others……not just to the priest, and men and women religious, or the bishops, but to all the baptized and probably to all people of goodwill…”
(from Vatican Radio)…
(Vatican Radio) Pope Francis said on Saturday (26th September) that “every Christian man and woman has received a mission” to help build up the Church. He said fulfilling that responsibility will require “creativity in adapting to changed situations” and called for “a much more active engagement on the part of the laity.” The Pope’s words came during his homily at Mass celebrated with Bishops, Clergy and Religious in the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia. The city is the final leg of his 6-day pastoral visit to the U.S. and the venue for the Church’s World Meeting of Families.
Please find below an English translation of Pope Francis’ homily at the Cathedral of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia:
This morning I learned something about the history of this beautiful Cathedral: the story behind its high walls and windows. I would like to think, though, that the history of the Church in this city and state is really a story not about building walls, but about breaking them down. It is a story about generation after generation of committed Catholics going out to the peripheries, and building communities of worship, education, charity and service to the larger society.
That story is seen in the many shrines which dot this city, and the many parish churches whose towers and steeples speak of God’s presence in the midst of our communities. It is seen in the efforts of all those dedicated priests, religious and laity who for over two centuries have ministered to the spiritual needs of the poor, the immigrant, the sick and those in prison. And it is seen in the hundreds of schools where religious brothers and sisters trained children to read and write, to love God and neighbor, and to contribute as good citizens to the life of American society. All of this is a great legacy which you have received, and which you have been called to enrich and pass on.
Most of you know the story of Saint Katharine Drexel, one of the great saints raised up by this local Church. When she spoke to Pope Leo XIII of the needs of the missions, the Pope – he was a very wise Pope! – asked her pointedly: “What about you? What are you going to do?”. Those words changed Katharine’s life, because they reminded her that, in the end, every Christian man and woman, by virtue of baptism, has received a mission. Each one of us has to respond, as best we can, to the Lord’s call to build up his Body, the Church.
“What about you?” I would like to dwell on two aspects of these words in the context of our particular mission to transmit the joy of the Gospel and to build up the Church, whether as priests, deacons, or members of institutes of consecrated life.
First, those words – “What about you?” – were addressed to a young person, a young woman with high ideals, and they changed her life. They made her think of the immense work that had to be done, and to realize that she was being called to do her part. How many young people in our parishes and schools have the same high ideals, generosity of spirit, and love for Christ and the Church! Do we challenge them? Do we make space for them and help them to do their part? To find ways of sharing their enthusiasm and gifts with our communities, above all in works of mercy and concern for others? Do we share our own joy and enthusiasm in serving the Lord?
One of the great challenges facing the Church in this generation is to foster in all the faithful a sense of personal responsibility for the Church’s mission, and to enable them to fulfill that responsibility as missionary disciples, as a leaven of the Gospel in our world. This will require creativity in adapting to changed situations, carrying forward the legacy of the past not primarily by maintaining our structures and institutions, which have served us well, but above all by being open to the possibilities which the Spirit opens up to us and communicating the joy of the Gospel, daily and in every season of our life.
“What about you?” It is significant that those words of the elderly Pope were also addressed to a lay woman. We know that the future of the Church in a rapidly changing society will call, and even now calls, for a much more active engagement on the part of the laity. The Church in the United States has always devoted immense effort to the work of catechesis and education. Our challenge today is to build on those solid foundations and to foster a sense of collaboration and shared responsibility in planning for the future of our parishes and institutions. This does not mean relinquishing the spiritual authority with which we have been entrusted; rather, it means discerning and employing wisely the manifold gifts which the Spirit pours out upon the Church. In a particular way, it means valuing the immense contribution which women, lay and religious, have made and continue to make, to the life of our communities.
Dear brothers and sisters, I thank you for the way in which each of you has answered Jesus’ question which inspired your own vocation: “What about you?”. I encourage you to be renewed in the joy of that first encounter with Jesus and to draw from that joy renewed fidelity and strength. I look forward to being with you in these days and I ask you to bring my affectionate greetings to those who could not be with us, especially the many elderly priests and religious who join us in spirit.
During these days of the World Meeting of Families, I would ask you in a particular way to reflect on our ministry to families, to couples preparing for marriage, and to our young people. I know how much is being done in your local Churches to respond to the needs of families and to support them in their journey of faith. I ask you to pray fervently for them, and for the deliberations of the forthcoming Synod on the Family.
Now, with gratitude for all we have received, and with confident assurance in all our needs, let us turn to Mary, our Blessed Mother. With a mother’s love, may she intercede for the growth of the Church in America in prophetic witness to the power of her Son’s Cross to bring joy, hope and strength into our world. I pray for each of you, and I ask you, please, to pray for me.
(from Vatican Radio)…
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.
(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)…