PHILADELPHIA -Speaking from the steps outside Independence Hall, Pope Francis asked the world’s religions Saturday to embrace peace and tolerance and told America’s immigrants to stay strong and “never be ashamed” of their traditions.
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When Pope Francis takes a break, he’ll be resting up at Saint Charles Borromeo Seminary – home to 130-plus seminarians.
His reform-minded approach to social issues, humility and focus on the most vulnerable has struck a chord across the racial and socioeconomic divide in a country increasingly questioning its place in the world. “Thank you for opening the doors”, the pope said.
“All of this is a great legacy which you have received, and which you have been called to enrich and pass on”, the Pope said.
He called on worshippers not to forget “the faces of all those people who don’t appear to belong, or are second-class citizens”.
The pope, in an extended departure from his prepared text, was animated as he spoke of the merits of globalization, as well as a potential inherent danger. He cautioned, however, against the possibility of stripping people of their individuality.
Nagel said he hopes the pope’s visit will generate feelings in people that God is watching us and is ready to help us if asked.
The flight was given the call sign Shepherd One for its illustrious passenger, in a nod to his tending to his Catholic flock.
This story has been corrected to show that the pope kissed a boy, not a man, in a wheelchair.
On the first two legs of his six-day USA journey, in Washington and New York, Francis was greeted by throngs of cheering, weeping well-wishers hoping for a glance or a touch from the wildly popular spiritual leader, despite unprecedented security.
This means valuing the enormous contribution which women, lay and religious, have made and continue to make, to the life of our communities, he said.
The Pontiff is expected to speak at this event today about immigration and religious freedoms.
His plane touched down at the Philadelphia airport, bringing him to the “City of Brotherly Love” with blocked-off streets, checkpoints manned by police, and jubilant crowds anticipating his arrival.
Still, Sister Ralph eventually moved about 20 rows back but remained in the middle section, where she felt she was assured a good view of the pope. “That sense of fraternal concern for the dignity of all, especially the weak and the vulnerable, became an essential part of the American spirit”.
“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 the successive waves of new Americans”, he said.
“I’m too broke to fly myself to Rome, so this is the closest I’m going to get”, Moots said. “We needed him”.
But she attended a retreat one day and realized it was her calling.
Outside the cordons near the city’s largest cathedral, the Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul, crowds mustered around 6am to greet the pope before a morning mass. Sovilda Rondon, with her family from the Dominican Republic, said she had been outside the church since 4am.
The pope is slated on Saturday night to give remarks at the Festival of Families on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
In the evening, he’ll be serenaded by soul singer Aretha Franklin, Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli and the Philadelphia Orchestra at the Festival of Families.
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The Philadelphia visit, which was the original reason for his visit to the US, all but paralyzed Center City, with stretches of Broad and Market Streets and other routes closed to all but pedestrians and lined with metal crowd-control barricades, massive concrete blocks and tall fences.
