Just being in same town with Pope is enough for woman

Mary Lynn Mattick began plotting her journey to the World Meeting of Families last winter.

Mattick, who lives in Pewaukee, Wis., isn't mobile enough to be able to see Pope Francis say Mass on the Parkway on Sunday. And instead of wading into the crowd at Independence Mall for the pontiff's immigration speech Saturday, she'll hunker down in her hotel room on City Avenue and watch it on TV.

But after a two-day train journey, she made it to the Convention Center on Wednesday, beaming at the thought that she was one of a crowd expected to swell to a million or more across the city - people who feel personally touched by Francis and the spirit he brings to the Roman Catholic Church.

"I had to be here," said Mattick, 65. "The excitement of knowing he's coming and I'm going to be in town, too - it's incredible. Pope Francis is a special man who seems to connect with everyone, and this is my pilgrimage."

Thousands of Catholics converged on the Convention Center on Wednesday for the second day of a joyous, crowded World Meeting of Families Congress that is a prelude to the pope's visit to Philadelphia.

Pilgrims in green T-shirts, nun's habits, and Roman collars attended Mass, participated in workshops, and listened to speeches on topics ranging from the concerns of the urban family to "dating as discernment."

Gertrude and Daudi Mpangile, faithful Catholics from Dar es Salaam, Tanzania, flew across the world to hear Francis' message.

"We saw this as an opportunity," said Daudi Mpangile, 35. "We knew that if we came, we'd learn so much about our faith and growing as a family."

Gertrude Mpangile, 33, pays close attention to the pontiff's weekly audiences. They mean much to her, and it was worth three plane rides (Dar es Salaam to Amsterdam, to Detroit, to Philadelphia) to share the same space with the pope.

"To me, he's very inspirational," she said. "I love his advocacy about family, about unity, about the environment and making the world a better place."

When she was a teenager, Lisa Shea attended World Youth Day in Toronto, which she calls one of the seminal experiences of her life. Now 28, Shea drove with daughters Roselyn, 2, and Avila, 11 months, from London, Ohio, to the World Meeting of Families. She said it felt important to connect with Catholics from around the world and the pontiff who means so much to her personally.

"It's not very often that the pope comes to your own country," said Shea, whose husband and sister will join her later in the week. "The Holy Spirit calls each pope for a reason. This one challenges people. He wants us to live a life of love and mercy."

To the many Latinos who traveled thousands of miles to attend the World Meeting and hear the church's leader speak, "Papa Francisco" also holds special meaning.

"Just the fact that you have someone you share the same language with, well, it's something large and you feel a closeness to him," said Cindy Padin, who traveled from Charlotte, N.C., with her husband, Carlos, their four children, and Padin's mother from El Salvador.

This is the first World Meeting of Families the Padin family has attended.

Although not within driving distance, a group of 75 from Puerto Rico also found that coming to Philadelphia for the conference was affordable.

"They should have these more frequently," Lydia Hernandez said of the conference. "In this world that we live in, family is the base."

Hernandez and her two friends were eating a quick lunch between sessions. The women, all of whom volunteer for churches near their homes, said that they are hoping for guidance on helping Catholic families stay strong in their faith. But most of all, they can't wait for Papa Francisco to arrive.

"We adore that pope," Sonia Garcia said, her face lighting up in excitement.

Garcia, who is divorced and remarried, though not through the church, said she would like to hear the pope address the issue of divorcées.

"He's making big changes in the church," Garcia said of Francis. "He has an open mind."

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