UNITED STATES
Washington Post
By Abby Ohlheiser November 17
“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.
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