Pope Francis set to arrive in Philly
In New York City, the pontiff yesterday addressed the U.N., went to the 9/11 memorial, visited Central Park and a school.
/arc-anglerfish-arc2-prod-pmn.s3.amazonaws.com/public/LA5CD3D3EZEFBFBTT7BYWXWIJU.jpg)
THE WAIT IS FINALLY over.
After months of anticipation, Pope Francis will arrive in Philadelphia this morning for the third and final leg of his six-day, three-city U.S. tour, which will conclude tomorrow.
The energetic Francis, who yesterday crisscrossed New York City in his modest Fiat, is expected to address more than a million followers in the City of Brotherly Love.
Yesterday, the pontiff began by addressing the United Nations General Assembly, where he urged leaders to protect the environment and warned against a "growing culture of waste." He then attended an interfaith service at the National Sept. 11 Memorial & Museum in Lower Manhattan and prayed silently in front of a touching tribute to the victims of the World Trade Center terrorist attacks.
"Here, the grief is palpable," he said, according to the New York Times.
In the afternoon, Francis visited Our Lady Queen of Angels School in East Harlem before taking the Popemobile for a spin through Central Park, where the crowd was so massive that several people reportedly fainted and had to receive medical treatment before the Holy Father arrived.
Francis concluded his first-ever trip to the Big Apple with an evening ticket-only Mass at Madison Square Garden. The line to get in stretched dozens of blocks, as those without tickets waited hours, just in hopes of catching a glimpse of the pope.
But Francis has saved the best for last.
He is scheduled to arrive in Philadelphia around 9:30 a.m. today He will start the day by celebrating a private Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul in Center City before being honored at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary on City Avenue.
The main event today will be Francis' speech at Independence Mall, where he is expected to talk about religious freedom and immigration, consistent themes throughout this trip.
The pontiff will conclude his whirlwind trip tomorrow with a series of events, highlighted by a stop at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility and a Mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Final preparations for the papal visit were in full swing yesterday, with police barriers and fences lining most of the streets in Center City. SEPTA began implementing service restrictions and vehicular traffic dwindled as day turned into night.
On Twitter: @ChroniclesofSol