Pope Francis makes it official: ‘I will go to Philadelphia’ in 2015

By Abby Ohlheiser
WashingtPost
November 17, 2014

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/post-nation/wp/2014/11/17/pope-francis-makes-it-official-i-will-go-to-philadelphia-in-2015/

Pope Francis delivers his blessing during the Angelus noon prayer from his studio’s window overlooking St. Peter’s Square, at the Vatican, Sunday, Nov. 16, 2014.

“I wish to confirm, according to the wishes of the Lord, that in September of 2015 I will go to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families,” Pope Francis said on Monday. It’s the first official confirmation of the pope’s long-expected visit to the United States, the first of his papacy. 

Francis was speaking at a colloquium organized by the Congregation of the Doctrine of the Faith. In attendance? The Archbishop of Philadelphia Charles J. Chaput, who has enthusiastically spoken of the Pope’s anticipated visit in the past.

On Monday, Chaput told the Associated Press that he “applauded the loudest” at Francis’s announcement at the conclusion of his address to the conference. 

According to the Philadelphia Archdiocese, Francis is expected to arrive on September 25, 2015, NBC Philadelphia reported. Officials are expecting up to 2 million people for a public mass held on the Ben Franklin Parkway two days later, and tens of thousands for the conference itself.

Few details of the Pope’s visit are confirmed, but many expect that Philadelphia won’t be the only city on his schedule. Last week, Archbishop Bernardito Auza, who heads the Holy See’s permanent observer mission to the United Nations, told the AP that “if he comes to Philadelphia, he will come to New York.” That expectation is, in part, because the Pope’s visit will coincide with the U.N. General Assembly in New York. 

Earlier this year, Vatican spokesperson Father Federico Lombardi told Catholic News Service that the Pope was still mulling over invitations to visit New York and D.C., where congressional leaders have invited the pope to address a joint session of Congress.

The theme for the 2015 World Meeting of Families is “Love Is Our Mission: The Family Fully Alive.” Chaput told the Catholic News Service earlier this year that he didn’t expect an official announcement until March. However, planning for the World Meeting went forward with the assumption that Francis would be there. According to Chaput, the pope even helped conference organizers select its theme.

The last papal visit to the United States was by Francis’s predecessor, Benedict XVI, in 2008.