They were thrilled to simply see Pope Francis.
Pushed up against a silver-aluminum barrier at Philadelphia International Airport Saturday morning, the Keating Family looked on as the pontiff planted his feet in Philadelphia under gray skies. It was the last stop on his historic U.S. tour.
They listened as Chuck Keating, the family’s patriarch, directed the Bishop Shanahan High School marching band to play music for the popular pope — a set that included “Gonna Fly Now” (The theme from Rocky). And they smiled as he began to pull away toward Center City to celebrate Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul.
But then, Pope Francis spotted Michael.
Sister Regina Plunkett was pointing at the 10-year-old boy, whose head almost didn’t clear the waist-high fence, sitting in his wheelchair among the small group.
“The Holy Father’s eyes opened very wide and then he said ‘Stop the car!’ said Plunkett, who is president of Bishop Shanahan. She granted the Keating family permission to be there with the band. “He got out of the car very quickly, came over and saw Michael."
[[329653911, C]]
Michael’s mother, Kristin Keating, tried not to bawl as she carefully moved her son’s head toward Pope Francis. He leaned forward, kissed his forehead and blessed the boy who suffers from cerebral palsy.
“I had to turn away,” Chuck Keating, the boy’s dad, told NBC10. “It’s just a dream come true. Unbelievable. Unbelievable. That’s the word I just keep saying over and over again.”
Not knowing Spanish, Kristin said she simply repeated said “thank you” as she and her husband shook hands with the pope.
[[329641401, C, 640,427]]
Michael and his twin brother, Christopher, were born at 29 weeks and endured a number of complications. Despite the challenges, Kristen Keating said the family’s life has been enriched by her son’s disability.
“This is just another one of those experiences. Of course it tops all others, but as a result of Michael’s disability our life has changed for the better. Sometimes people don’t understand that, but it really has,” Kristen Keating, his mother, said.
“We’re so thankful to the students of Bishop Shanahan for all their hard work that enabled to let us come.”
Michael can’t speak, but facial expressions tell his family how he’s feeling. Kristin said her son had only one reaction as Pope Francis walked away: “a big smile.”
[[329649441, C, 640,478]]
Standing at a famous lectern in a location where both the Declaration of Independence and the U.S. Constitution were signed, Pope Francis gave a much-anticipated speech Saturday that focused on two hot-button social issues in America today — immigration and religious freedom.
Pope Francis spoke in front of Independence Hall in Philadelphia as a religious leader for whom the treatment of immigrants is central to his doctrine.
[[329655971, C]]
Using the same lectern President Abraham Lincoln used to give the Gettysburg Address, the pope had a specific message to America’s Hispanic population and recent immigrants to the U.S., who he addressed with “particular affection."
“Please don’t ever be ashamed of your traditions. Do not forget the lessons you learned from your elders, which are something you can bring to enrich the life of this American land," he said. "I repeat, do not be ashamed of what is part of you, your life blood."
[[329653131, C]]
He called on immigrants to be "responsible citizens," and to contribute to the life of the communities in which they live.
"I think in particular of the vibrant faith which so many of you possess, the deep sense of family life and all those other values which you have inherited," he said. "By contributing your gifts, you will not only find your place here, you will help to renew society from within.”
Francis, who came out of Independence Hall to Aaron Copeland's "Fanfare for the Common Man," said that the United States was built on the ideas that all men and women are created equal, and that people have certain inalienable right, but that they always have to be "reaffirmed, re-appropriated and defended."
"We remember the great struggles which led to the abolition of slavery, the extension of voting rights, the growth of the labor movement, and the gradual effort to eliminate every kind of racism and prejudice directed at successive waves of new Americans," he said. "This shows that, when a country is determined to remain true to its founding principles, based on respect for human dignity, it is strengthened and renewed."
[[329650091, C]]
The pope also went off script, as he is known to do, when he talked about globalization, saying that a globalizing tendency is good and brings people together.
"But what may be bad is the way this happens," he said. "If globalization would seek to make everyone the same, as if it were a single sphere, that globalization destroys the richness and the particularity, the individuality, of every person and every people. If globalization seeks to bring all of us together, but to do so respecting each person, each individual person’s richness and peculiarity, respecting all people and their own distinctness, that globalization is good and makes us all grow and leads to peace."
Among those in attendance were Jack Shapey, 52, a sales professional, and Steven N. Pyser, 55, a part-time lecturer at Rutgers University in Camden in the School of Business. They are both Jewish, and said they would not have been drawn by previous popes.
"This transcends faith," Pyser said. "It's humanity. It's dignity."
Said Shapey: "He’s inspirational, motivational and very much needed in today's world."
Also in attendance was Erik Sanchez, 14, who is from Brooklyn.
"I thought it was heartwarming," said Sanchez, whose parents are from Mexico. "And true because we should never forget where we come from. It felt good because usually the people don’t have that respect and sometimes the people aren't heard. And for some public figure to say something like that -- a big public figure can make people notice."
On immigration, Pyser said that the way Pope Francis framed the topic invited a conversation and allowed people to momentarily sidestep the polarization that has engulfed it.
"But it's a very knotty subject and it will be vigorously debated," Pyser said.
Said Shapey: "It needs to be addressed."
Before his speech, the pope rode his "Popemobile" through the streets leading to Independence Hall, waving to the crowds and kissing babies along the way. He also blessed a 5-foot-tall cross symbolizing the journey of faith of Latino Catholics.
[[329639411, C]]
The South American son of immigrants himself, Francis is making immigrants one of the focuses of his first visit to the United States. At a time when a top Republican presidential contender, Donald Trump, advocates for a wall along the Mexican border to keep out what he labels rapists and other criminals, Francis urges respecting the reasons that children, women and men leave their homes.
Speaking to the U.S. Congress on Thursday, Francis urged its members to be humane and just as they responded to the migrants pouring into Europe and the immigrants, often undocumented, coming to the United States from Latin America.
"We must not be taken aback by their numbers, but rather view them as persons, seeing their faces and listening to their stories, trying to respond as best as we can to their situation," Francis said.
A volunteer for the pope's visit in Philadelphia on Saturday, Kim Vinch, said Francis' address was coming at the right time given the anti-immigrant rhetoric that has become part of the public discourse.
[[329640301, C]]
"I think it's perfect timing because our country just seems to need it," said Vinch, 51, of Lawrenceville, N.J. "We need reform. We need this kind of guidance."
Nearby on Market Street, Mary Sue Gorman and her 15-year-old daughter, Sarah, stopped to take a photo with a life-sized cut-out of Francis on their way to Independence Hall.
"He says what he wants to say," Gorman, a pension consultant, said of Francis and his views on immigration. "Hopefully people will hear and be compassionate and come to a compromise."
Francis' worldview is from the bottom up, with immigrants at the core of what he cares about, said John Carr, director of Initiative on Catholic Social Thought and Public Life at Georgetown University.
When Francis visited Lampedusa in 2013, the tiny Sicilian island toward which tens of thousands leaving North Africa have fled, he said the drownings of migrants was "a thorn in the heart." Two years later, with masses of Syrians refugees arriving in Europe, he is calling on every Catholic parish, monastery and convent to take in a family.
"For Pope Francis this is personal not political. This is moral not ideological," Carr said.
[[329639031, C]]
Francis' visit is replete with reminders of his appeal for better treatment for immigrants, including meetings with day laborers and children who crossed the border unaccompanied by adults. Francis had talked about arriving in the United States via a border crossing, though in the end he flew into Joint Base Andrews.
"To enter the United States from the border with Mexico would be a beautiful gesture of brotherhood and support for immigrants," Francis said.
Francis’ views on immigration and some other topics are out of step with many in power in the United States. A Gallup poll found that his favorability rating had dropped from 76 percent in February of last year to 59 percent in July, a decline driven by Catholics and conservatives.
In the last Congress, the Senate passed a bipartisan immigration bill that would have offered citizenship for many of the United States' 11 million unauthorized immigrants, but the bill died in the House.
By contrast, this Congress has opposed President Barack Obama’s executive orders to stop the deportation of some undocumented immigrants.
The man known as Philly Jesus is hoping to get close enough to Pope Francis to snap a moment that will last forever.
“When the Pope comes, me and him, we’re gonna get a good selfie together and I’m going to take him for a cheesesteak,” Michael Grant, aka Philly Jesus, told NBC10.
He might not have a chance to treat the pontiff to a Philly food favorite while the Holy See is visiting Philadelphia this weekend, but Grant might get a chance to grab that special photo. Grant said he plans to be along the Parkway throughout the weekend of World Meeting of Families events in hopes of getting his moment with the Pope.
Grant, who donned the cloak and staff after being born again following a battle with drug addiction, is known for his Love Park baptisms and preaching in the name of Jesus Christ.
If the selfie happens, Grant said it would be “epic.”
In the meantime, Grants seems to be having a good time riding his own version of the popemobile.
A photo posted by Jackie (@jsiebel88) on
As Pope Francis' motorcade inched closer to Center City Philadelphia Saturday morning, Juan Garcia and his 10-year-old daughter Samantha waited eagerly on the Parkway in hopes of seeing the Pontiff.
"I want to feel the experience of love and God," Garcia, who brought his whole family -- two daughters, a son and his wife, who is pregnant with their fourth child -- from North Carolina.
For Juan, Philly isn't the first time he'll see the Pope. He saw him in Brazil for World Youth Day in 2013.
Samantha, though, has never seen him before.
"I can't wait until I'm 13 so I can see him again," the little girl said, referring to the age her dad told her she had to be to go with him to World Youth Day.
Official translation (as written) of Pope Francis’ Holy Mass at Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania:
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.
A Center City business owner says a temporary price increase in advance of Pope Francis’ arrival that was criticized was a case of bad timing.
Rikki Vaughn owns and operates nine Dunkin’ Donuts in downtown Philadelphia. Vaughn cited a lack of communication and said he was told by a Secret Service agent that he had to close five of his stores beginning at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Vaughn said he was “frustrated” by the situation and had to tell approximately 120 employees to stay home without pay beginning Thursday afternoon and lasting until sometime Monday when the stores are allowed to reopen.
Vaughn told NBC10 his stores typically raise prices twice a year – in February and September – to cover cost increases.
Vaughn told NBC10 he raised prices to “try to justify closing stores down” and leaving employees without a paycheck.
However, he said he lowered the prices after only two hours.
Vaughn said his business, as well as other business owners in the area, won’t benefit from the event and he wished it was “better planned."
Pope Francis' tour of the U.S. has already been filled with special moments that will become indelible memories for his fans and faithful. Residents of and visitors to Philadelphia, where the pope landed Saturday morning for the final leg of the tour, are ready this weekend to make their own memories.
Philadelphia is playing host to the World Meeting of Families, the first time the week-long conference has been held in the U.S. Hundreds of thousands of Catholics traveled into this city hoping not only to strengthen the bonds of their faith but catch a glimpse of His Holiness.
Banners and photos of Francis lined Market Street to welcome the pope: "Have the Courage to Be Truly Happy," one read; "We All Have the Duty to Do Good," read another.
With the biggest moments of Francis' trip yet to come – including a speech at a lectern used by President Abraham Lincoln and a visit to a local prison – some in Philadelphia were mulling what he'd already said and done over his first four days in the U.S.
"I loved seeing him with the kids in Harlem," said Sister Mary Karen, "because we serve women who are vulnerable and pregnant. So a lot of those children, they're part of us."
Francis visited the East Harlem school in New York on Friday, where he met with third- and fourth-grade students and immigrants being assisted by Catholic Charities.
Sister Karen and 19 of her fellow Sisters of Life have been in Philadelphia all week, and 50 more were coming down for the weekend.
"We're really excited," she said in downtown Philadelphia Saturday morning. "It's kind of like a big family reunion."
Francis' remarks from Friday night Mass at Madison Square Garden were still on Kim Vinch's mind as she waited for the pontiff in Philadelphia. The Lawrenceville, N.J. resident was deeply affected when she watched him speak.
"Even when he was just in his thoughtful prayer after Communion it's hard not to get emotional. He seems to touch so many people so deeply," said Vinch, a special education teacher.
Sister Karen's life has already changed after coming into contact with a pope. She became a sister after seeing Pope John Paul II in Rome, when she was a student at the University of Virginia and backpacking around Europe. She immediately called her mother to tell her that her life had changed.
Her mother told her, "Whenever you come close to such holiness something in us has to change," Sister Karen said near St. John the Evangelist Church, a historic church in downtown Philly.
"It's a beautiful experience not only to see the Holy Father but to experience the church," he said. "When you experience it from the inside like this you know that the church is not just an institution."
The city is expecting up to 2 million people to come for the World Meeting of Families, and much of downtown was cordoned off to travel to accommodate the pilgrims.
Arturo Salgado traveled from St. Cloud, Minnesota, to see Pope Francis on the East Coast. His group's first stop was Washington, D.C., and they were in Philadelphia Saturday for his arrival.
"We were 10 to 12 feet away when we saw him in D.C.," Salgado said excitedly. He said that despite tight security in Philly and checkpoints monitored by TSA agents, he thought security in D.C. was tighter.
On the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, crowds lining the road to see Francis' afternoon speech cheered as they watched as a Jumbotron showed Pope Francis exit his car to greet people before celebrating Mass.
Gwen Prelow, a retired woman who traveled to Philadelphia from her home in New Jersey, remained hopeful that he might pass by the parkway after Mass.
"I'll be so happy just to see his face," Prelow said. "He's such a pleasant man."
The Market Street Bridge near Amtrak's 30th Street Station was converted to a makeshift souvenir shop by entrepreneurs looking to make a quick buck selling memorabilia to visitors in Philadelphia for the Papal visit on Saturday.
Numerous t-shirts with images of Pope Francis were being sold, as well as more unique items like local entrepreneur Ron Crognale's Twistmas lights. Crognale made a special "Pope" edition of his product, a Christmas tree light ornament that can be customized by adding your own personal photos, to commemorate the Papal visit.
"I thought it would be nice to do something for the Pope's visit, so I came over from D.C. and my family members are here with me helping me sell them," Crognale said.
Two other local entrepreneurs, Jude Baseden and Carolyn Staley sold onesies with an image of the Pope -- in a Rocky pose -- on them. Basden came up with the image idea a few weeks ago, had an artist draw it for her and spent several days screen printing them onto onesies and tees.
Not all of the vendors were local.
Vince Woods journeyed all the way from Compton, Calif. to see the Pope in Washington, D. C. He then headed to Philadelphia to sell souvenir rosary beads, t-shirts, buttons, and tote bags all covered with images of Pope Francis.
"I got lost at one point because they had shut down so many streets but once I made it to this bridge, I was okay," Woods said.
"It was great to see the Pope in D.C. The crowd was great there and they loved buying these little tokens. I think the crowd here in Philly is going to be even better."
"Happy Birthday to You," that’s how a group of seminarians serenaded Pope Francis as he arrived at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary outside Philadelphia Saturday afternoon.
But, the birthday greetings weren’t for the pontiff but rather he host during his visit to the Philadelphia region, Archbishop Charles Chaput. Philly’s archbishop, who like the Pope is a member of the Franciscan Order, turned 71 Saturday.
The rendition of "Happy Birthday" followed "Domine Salvum Fac."
And, what a birthday gift for Chaput, getting to sit down for lunch with the Pope, a group of seminarians and VIPs at the quiet Main Line enclave.
The Pope will appear again in public Saturday afternoon for a speech outside Independence Hall in Philadelphia.
Pilgrims from all across the world have been coming to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis, but some groups within the City of Brotherly Love have been making their own trips in to see the pontiff.
With many roads blocked off within the Francis Festival Grounds, many cheery groups walked into Center City to celebrate the pope's visit to Philly. One group of enthusiastic seminarians sang aloud as they walked down the city streets.
Passers-by could hear the chanting and clapping from down the street, as yells of "I love Pope Francis!" echoed off the buildings.
These student priests were coming from 2nd Street on the east side, but we've seen groups of visitors coming from all sides to participate in the events this weekend, singing in both English and Spanish, Pope Francis' native tongue.
Dehlia Gonzalez saw the Pope several times with her own eyes in Rome. She knows the power of seeing him, and she always wanted her children to experience it, too.
So when she heard Pope Francis would be coming to Philadelphia, she didn't hesitate to pile her boys in her car and take a two-day cross-country trip from Round Rock, Tex. to the City of Brotherly Love.
"We drove two days straight to get here," Gonzalez said as she stood on the Parkway after Pope Francis' Mass at the Basilica on Saturday. She said they arrived in Philly Friday night and were tired but doing just fine.
"The strength of the spirit is with us," she said.
For Christopher, one of Gonzalez's sons, who suffers from autism, the trip was particularly special. Christopher, 15, is very religious, Gonzalez said. He took video of the Pope's Mass shown on outdoor jumbotrons on his iPhone and buzzed with excitement.
"We're so exited for Philadelphia and everything about Pope Francis," Christopher said.
Pope Francis asked to circle the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island on his way out of New York, becoming emotional as the helicopter carried him over the sights that greeted millions of immigrants to America, Cardinal Timothy Dolan said.
Dolan, who joined the pope for his flight out of Manhattan, said Francis asked the pilot to make a detour over New York Harbor.
"As we circled Ellis Island, as we circled the Statue of Liberty, I could see he was very 'commosso' — as they say in Italian." The word Dolan chose means "moved."
Francis has made migration rights a priority of his pontificate, stirred by the crisis affecting Europe in particular but also compelled to speak out for the rights of immigrants to seek a better life for themselves because of his own personal story.
Francis' paternal grandparents, Giovanni and Rosa Margherita Bergoglio, immigrated to Buenos Aires in January 1929 with their son Mario — the pope's father — from Italy's northern Piemonte region.
The significance to the Statue of Liberty and Ellis Island was clear to Francis, Dolan said.
"He said, 'You know, Buenos Aires was a city of immigrants too,'" Dolan said.
Anytime large crowds gather, there is the chance of groups getting separated.
A major role of the American Red Cross during the Papal visit is to help reunite pilgrims who have been separated.
Volunteers are working at reunification stands and tents throughout Philadelphia.
Friday evening, volunteers were able to reunite a pilgrim from New York City who ended up at the wrong train station. Red Cross volunteers were able to find the woman's party and reunite them at the edge of the secure zone.
The Red Cross will continue to provide this Safe and Well Reunification service throughout the weekend. If someone becomes separated and needs assistance relocating their group, they can call 855-259-2114 or visit an American Red Cross tent.
After providing their information, they will be placed into the Safe and Well database.
This allows other Red Cross representatives and their group to search for their loved one’s current location in order to reconnect.
The heavens seem to be smiling down on Pope Francis on the second half of his U.S. trip.
A weather phenomenon that looks an awful lot like a rainbow has now appeared in the skies above New York and Philadelphia when Francis was in town, dropping jaws wherever it appears.
They aren't actually rainbows, though. The beams of rainbow-colored light are called a sundog and caused by the sunlight refracting in the ice crystals of cirrus clouds, which were over New York Friday and Philly Saturday.
But for those who spotted the sundogs, the "rainbow" shining bright without rain seemed like a message from heaven.
[[329648181,C]]
"There was no rain yesterday (just sayin)," Tom Mendoza tweeted, along with a picture of the phenomenon.
[[329647091, C]]
[[329646911, C]]
[[329646561, C]]
[[329646941, C]]
[[329646821, C]]
NBC Philadelphia's David Parkinson contributed to this story.
It was a motorcade to remember for a New Jersey woman in need of a kidney during the Papal visit, and it didn't involve the Popemobile.
The woman, who lives in Berlin, New Jersey, learned Saturday morning that a donated kidney was available at Jefferson Hospital in Philadelphia. Knowing how difficult it would be to get her there due to the extensive road closures for the Pope, the State Department of Health contacted New Jersey State Police around 11 a.m. and requested an escort to the hospital.
New Jersey State Police Sergeant Chris Modarelli met an ambulance at noon at the woman’s home. He then provided a police escort over the Ben Franklin Bridge into Philadelphia where they were met by Pennsylvania State Police. The woman was then safely transported to Jefferson Hospital where she’ll receive her new kidney.
NJ State Police called the event a “miracle during the Papal visit.” It was also an incredible example of the hard work and dedication of some our region’s finest.
Fencing constructed out of metal bike racks for security purposes along the parade route Pope Francis is expected to take Saturday evening in Philadelphia made movement difficult in some areas.
Bike-rack barricades restricted people to sidewalks on either side of 16th Street and the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, making it near impossible to cross the street at any point along the route.
Following the pontiff's morning Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Sts. Peter and Paul, security barriers on 16th Street south of the Parkway created a bottleneck for about an hour, where hordes of people were at a near-standstill trying to make their way south.
A family with a child in a wheelchair got stuck in the crowd and begged a bartender at an outdoor tent outside Tir Na Nog to let them through the tent so they could get out of the crowd.
"She's going to get hurt," a woman said. The bartender obliged and slid aside one of the beer coolers to accommodate the family.
Difficulty moving has been a common struggle for disabled residents and visitors to the city due to security measures taken for the papal visit.
US Secret Service Director Joe Clancy was in his hometown Saturday just outside the Basilica where Pope Francis would begin his Philadelphia trip with a Mass.
Clancy who took over the embattled agency earlier this year is a Philadelphia-area native.
The Secret Service is ultimately responsible for all of the Papal Events as this is a National Special Security Event or NSSE. The World Meeting of Families weekend marks the 51st NSSE since 1998.
Clancy, a graduate of Archbishop Carroll High School in Radnor, Pennsylvania, says he's been intimately involved in the papal security detail. He says he's built on a relationship that started when Pope Benedict visited the U.S.
He told NBC News' Stephanie Gosk in an exclusive national interview, "I personally know the head of security for the Vatican and have met with him several times. In fact, I went over to Rome to see how they operate with Pope Francis. I've been involved in other Pope's visits, but Pope Francis of course is a little different. And we wanted to see how his detail works.”
Clancy was seen speaking with Philadelphia Police Commissioner Charles Ramsay and other top Philly police officials ahead of the pontiff's arrival.
The following are the remarks by Pope Francis at Independence Hall in Philadelphia, as delivered by Francis and translated from Spanish:
Dear Friends,
One of the highlights of my visit is to stand here, before Independence Hall, the birthplace of the United States of America. It was here that the freedoms which define this country were first proclaimed. The Declaration of Independence stated that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and that governments exist to protect and defend those rights. Those ringing words continue to inspire us today, even as they have inspired peoples throughout the world to fight for the freedom to live in accordance with their dignity.
But history also shows that these or any truths must constantly be reaffirmed, re-appropriated and defended. The history of this nation is also the tale of a constant effort, lasting to our own day, to embody those lofty principles in social and political life. We remember the great struggles which led to the abolition of slavery, the extension of voting rights, the growth of the labor movement, and the gradual effort to eliminate every kind of racism and prejudice directed at successive waves of new Americans. This shows that, when a country is determined to remain true to its founding principles, based on respect for human dignity, it is strengthened and renewed.
All of us benefit from remembering our past. A people which remembers does not repeat past errors; instead, it looks with confidence to the challenges of the present and the future. Remembrance saves a people’s soul from whatever or whoever would attempt to dominate it or use it for their interests. When individuals and communities are guaranteed the effective exercise of their rights, they are not only free to realize their potential, they also contribute to the welfare and enrichment of society.
In this place which is symbolic of the American way, I would like to reflect with you on the right to religious freedom. It is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own. Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate. But religious liberty, by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families. "Religious freedom isn't a subculture, it's a part of every people and nation.
Our various religious traditions serve society primarily by the message they proclaim. They call individuals and communities to worship God, the source of all life, liberty and happiness. They remind us of the transcendent dimension of human existence and our irreducible freedom in the face of every claim to absolute power. We need but look at history, especially the history of the last century, to see the atrocities perpetrated by systems which claimed to build one or another “earthly paradise” by dominating peoples, subjecting them to apparently indisputable principles and denying them any kind of rights. Our rich religious traditions seek to offer meaning and direction, “they have an enduring power to open new horizons, to stimulate thought, to expand the mind and heart” (Evangelii Gaudium, 256). They call to conversion, reconciliation, concern for the future of society, self-sacrifice in the service of the common good, and compassion for those in need. At the heart of their spiritual mission is the proclamation of the truth and dignity of the human person and human rights.
Our religious traditions remind us that, as human beings, we are called to acknowledge an Other, who reveals our relational identity in the face of every effort to impose “a uniformity to which the egotism of the powerful, the conformism of the weak, or the ideology of the utopian would seek to impose on us” (M. de Certeau).
In a world where various forms of modern tyranny seek to suppress religious freedom, or try to reduce it to a subculture without right to a voice in the public square, or to use religion as a pretext for hatred and brutality, it is imperative that the followers of the various religions join their voices in calling for peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and rights of others.
We live in a world subject to the “globalization of the technocratic paradigm” (Laudato Si’, 106), which consciously aims at a one-dimensional uniformity and seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial quest for unity. The religions thus have the right and the duty to make clear that it is possible to build a society where “a healthy pluralism which respects differences and values them as such” (Evangelii Gaudium, 255) is a “precious ally in the commitment to defending human dignity… and a path to peace in our troubled world” (ibid., 257).
There's a tendency to globalization. Globalization isn't bad, on the contrary, the tendency towards globalization is good, unites us, it can be noble. But if it pretends to makes us all the same, as if we were an sphere, it destroys the individual things (particularidades) of each people and each person.
If globalization tries to unite respecting the person and it's individualities, each people and it's individualities, it's good and led to peace.
If it's an sphere, where everyone is an equal dot, at the same distance from the center, it cancels. If it's like a polihedron, everyone united but with their own identity, it's good and gives rights to the peoples.
Then he repeated this: Don't be ashamed of that wich is an essential part of you. You're also called to be responsible citizens.
The Quakers who founded Philadelphia were inspired by a profound evangelical sense of the dignity of each individual and the ideal of a community united by brotherly love. This conviction led them to found a colony which would be a haven of religious freedom and tolerance. That sense of fraternal concern for the dignity of all, especially the weak and the vulnerable, became an essential part of the American spirit. During his visit to the United States in 1987, Saint John Paul II paid moving homage to this, reminding all Americans that: “The ultimate test of your greatness is the way you treat every human being, but especially the weakest and most defenseless ones” (Farewell Address, 19 September 1987, 3).
I take this opportunity to thank all those, of whatever religion, who have sought to serve the God of peace by building cities of brotherly love, by caring for our neighbors in need, by defending the dignity of God’s gift of life in all its stages, by defending the cause of the poor and the immigrant. All too often, those most in need of our help are unable to be heard. You are their voice, and many of you have faithfully made their cry heard. In this witness, which frequently encounters powerful resistance, you remind American democracy of the ideals for which it was founded, and that society is weakened whenever and wherever injustice prevails.
Among us today are members of America’s large Hispanic population, as well as representatives of recent immigrants to the United States. I greet all of you with particular affection! Many of you have emigrated to this country at great personal cost, but in the hope of building a new life. Do not be discouraged by whatever challenges and hardships you face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to your new nation. You should never be ashamed of your traditions. Do not forget the lessons you learned from your elders, which are something you can bring to enrich the life of this American land. I repeat, do not be ashamed of what is part of you, your life blood. You are also called to be responsible citizens, and to contribute fruitfully to the life of the communities in which you live. I think in particular of the vibrant faith which so many of you possess, the deep sense of family life and all those other values which you have inherited. By contributing your gifts, you will not only find your place here, you will help to renew society from within.
Dear friends, I thank you for your warm welcome and for joining me here today. May this country and each of you be renewed in gratitude for the many blessings and freedoms that you enjoy. And may you defend these rights, especially your religious freedom, for it has been given to you by God himself. May he bless you all. I ask you, please, not to forget to pray for me.
