“Don’t be discouraged by the challenges and difficulties you must face”, the pope told them.
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Pope Francis has called for a vigorous defence of religious freedom and asked ordinary Catholics, especially women, to help fortify the Church, as hundreds of thousands celebrated his visit to Philadelphia.
They brought out all the pomp and circumstance at Independence Hall on Saturday afternoon.
“Globalization is not bad in itself”, the pope said.
Springfield Bishop Mitchell Rozanski has traveled along with the Pope this week and witnessed the response he’s generated from people of all faiths.
Catholics from around the world, America and Philadelphia residents drawn to the hugely popular pope camped on streets overnight or spent the day in the sun waiting for a glimpse of Francis.
At the gathering, the Pope met with families from the US, Australia, Ukraine, Jordan, Nigeria, and his homeland of Argentina.
Pope Francis flew over New York’s Statue of Liberty and the former immigration station of Ellis Island aboard a helicopter on Saturday, in an unscheduled detour that gave him nostalgia for his home town Buenos Aires.
Last night at a ceremony emceed by actor Mark Wahlberg and which included performances by singer Aretha Franklin and Italian tenor Andrea Bocelli, the Pope spoke of the love of family.
“This journey represents for the United States a precious opportunity to embrace this giant, a man of God, a gift from heaven, a point of reference and a providential source of hope for our world”, he said.
Francis then took to the stage to speak directly to those gathered in the crowd: grandparents, struggling couples and children.
Pierre Osias, from the Essex County Community Organizers, said the pope’s words “made me think that we need to not forget the people … who had to rip their lives to come here for a better life”.
Drawing cheers from the large crowd on Independence Mall, where numerous faithful waved flags from countries such as Costa Rica and Mexico, the Argentine-born Francis urged his diverse flock to “never be ashamed of your traditions”.
After the speech, the pope went to the Festival of Families taking place on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Businessman Donald Trump, the Republican frontrunner in presidential polls, has said he would deport the country’s estimated 11 million illegal immigrants, most of whom are Hispanic, and build a wall along the American border with Mexico.
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The pontiff has stressed the message of acceptance of immigrants numerous times during his first-ever visit to the United States. He also painted the final stroke on a mural that will hang in Philadelphia in honor of the World Meeting of Families.
