Penndel firm to bring beauty under the pope's feet

As antique broadlooms heaved inside the Langhorne Carpet Company's carpet mill, Andrea Perlman shrugged.

She wasn't rattled by her latest creation: a Cardinal red carpet woven to provide a crimson path for Pope Francis' first steps in Philadelphia.

"I think it's an honor that we're doing it," said Perlman, who has created carpet patterns for more than 30 years, "but I do it constantly. ... I do historic sites, we do work for celebrities, for restorations ... and I like to do a good job."

"I'm not Catholic," she added, "I'm Jewish, so it doesn't faze me that way."

Langhorne Carpet - founded by a Methodist minister in 1930 and currently run by his Quaker-educated great-grandson – is donating the "Medallions of Hope" red carpet for the pontiff's visit to the City of Brotherly Love. The 75-foot runner, bordered on its sides by a Gothic gold-medallion pattern, will be rolled out this weekend for the pope's arrival and departure from Philadelphia International Airport.

Bill Morrow, the proprietor of the family-owned mill in Penndel, also called the work an honor. But he stressed that religious affiliation is not a prerequisite to revel in the pontiff's visit.

"Whether or not I'm Catholic is not the point," Morrow said. "[Pope Francis] is setting the world on fire by being all-inclusive. Everyone is cheering for him."

Morrow tapped a finger as he recited a list of Langhorne Carpet's low-profile, yet high-prestige jobs: floor coverings for the White House private quarters; the TV White House featured in the hit Netflix show "House of Cards"; a room in Congress Hall. "Oh," he added, "In the '80s, we did Michael Jackson's home." But in crafting a design for the leader of the Roman Catholic Church - for a man planning to share bold new ideas for an old institution - understatement was key.

"This pope is not one for a lot of the pomp and circumstance," Morrow said.

The church asked for a simple red carpet, and that was fine, Morrow said. "[B]ut what we're really good at, and what we're known for, is pattern."

Initial ideas for the woven papal pathway included olive branches and palms. Those were scrapped: The company wanted a theme that echoed elements of the city and the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul.

Perlman and Morrow found inspiration in the ornate stained glass windows illuminating the Cathedral's Roman-Corinthian style interior. With one of the rose window's circular and decorative designs in mind, Perlman constructed a pattern with a quietly distinctive motif.

"It had a subtle elegance," Morrow said.

The company also donated two green carpets featuring a cascading gold-medallion motif that will be installed inside the Basilica's rectory, where Francis will don his vestments before celebrating Mass on Sept. 27 on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.

The pope will walk into the city carrying a reputation as a Catholic leader with a proclivity for acceptance, tolerance, and an understanding of diversity.

Perlman confessed that while the scale of the job doesn't inflate her pride, she does admire the progressive leader for whom the welcome mat was designed.

"My opinion of him is very high because I feel that he is more humane," Perlman said. "He sees that the world is different than it used to be."