Papal visit organizers feel need to encourage pilgrims

Pope Francis' visit to Philadelphia is promised to be the city's largest event in decades, but amid severe security and transit restrictions, organizers launched an effort Wednesday to ensure that the expected crowds show up.

The "I'll Be There!" campaign was announced by the World Meeting of Families 2015 at a news conference/pep rally outside Jack's Firehouse restaurant in Fairmount.

Mayor Nutter denied that the new push was a response to anticipated drop-off in attendance, though he did say hotel rooms are still available for the weekend. Promoters have long said they expect 1.5 million people in the city on each day of the pope's visit.

But the intense security and transit restrictions may have left many would-be pilgrims rethinking their plans.

World Meeting executive director Donna Crilley Farrell started with some public rebranding, banning the term traffic box - the area closed to inbound vehicle traffic from Friday night through Sunday night.

Instead, she said, it should be called the "Francis Festival grounds," accessible during the two-day visit Sept. 26 and 27.

SEPTA Regional Rail passes, undersold in an earlier lottery, are still available. SEPTA will take people within a mile's walking distance of the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and Independence Hall, Crilley Farrell said.

To drum up regional support, the World Meeting is distributing "I'll Be There!" buttons for those pledging to attend, and "Open in PHL" kits to businesses that stay open during what could be a blockbuster weekend - if people show up.

Jack's Firehouse is vowing to stay open despite road closures and delivery concerns. Down the road, however, Zorba's Greek restaurant had a window sign advising of a two-week vacation during the visit.

Jack's owner Mick Houston said the area is used to big crowds and closed streets, particularly around July Fourth. "We do the best we can. Does everyone have the best possible experience when it's that crazy? No, but we get people fed, people have a good time."

Houston's advice to businesses unaccustomed to big crowds: "Worst-case scenario ... you're going to have to close your doors because you're overrun. You're going to run out of food? Do the best you can, get as many people as you can working for you."

"Open in PHL" kits will be distributed to businesses and various chambers of commerce, Independence Visitor Center, Reading Terminal Market, and Philadelphia International Airport.

Kits include "Welcome Pope Francis" posters, window signs, and frequently asked questions for businesses. For those traveling to the box - er, festival grounds - the pilgrimage may feel like a charity walk, with water stations along the way and even medals.

Volunteers will hand out prayer cards and holy medals to visitors coming into the traffic box from Girard Avenue, 38th Street, South Street, or Columbus Boulevard. Francis will offer a blessing at the Saturday night Festival of Families and the Sunday afternoon papal Mass, when visitors can have those medals blessed.

Crilley Farrell called the event "once in a lifetime" and said that even likening it to the 1979 papal visit ignores the scope of things this time around.

"Frankly, there really is no comparison - St. John Paul II said one outdoor Mass here 36 years ago in the midst of an eight-city tour," she said. "There was no World Meeting of Families, there was no two-day visit with Mass at the cathedral, an address on immigration and religious freedom at Independence Hall, a Festival of Families."

For those who were there in 1979, she posed a question (with apologies to newscasters in front of her) and a challenge to show up in person:

"Do you know anyone who fondly recalls the visit of Pope John Paul II in terms of watching it at home on their TV?"

Market to be open

After weeks of deliberations, officials of the Reading Terminal Market on Wednesday announced that the block-long food emporium will be open during the weekend of Pope Francis' visit to Center City.

The market, at 11th and Arch Streets, falls inside a tight security zone drawn by the U.S. Secret Service. It will stay open on a modified schedule, from 8 a.m. to 6 p.m. Sept. 25; 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. Sept. 26; and 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sept. 27.

"After much planning and preparation, we are pleased to announce that Reading Terminal Market will remain open during the World Meeting of Families Congress and for Pope Francis' visit in September," Anuj Gupta, the market's general manager, said in a statement.

"This is a historic occasion for the city of Philadelphia, and we are proud to showcase one of the best attractions our city has to offer to the tens of thousands who will be here for this international event," Gupta said.

Gupta met as recently as last week with the director of the city's Office of Emergency Management to express concerns merchants had about how its roughly 350 workers would get to the job, given curtailed public transit service and streets clogged by pedestrians.

The city had said it would work to help address that and another major concern of the market and downtown restaurateurs - getting supplies into a zone that will be closed to inbound traffic. - Maria Panaritis

215-854-5506@juliaterruso