Two-Day Visit Of Pope Francis To Philadelphia Has Twofold Purpose
By Mark Abrams
PHILADELPHIA (CBS) -- When Pope Francis comes to Philadelphia for two days at the end of September, his pastoral mission will have a dual purpose.
Philadelphia archbishop Charles Chaput says the pope's participation in the closing of the World Meeting of Families conference here is one key element of the visit September 26 and 27th.
Chaput says the other is reinvigorating the Philadelphia archdiocese or local church itself -- battered in recent years by financial woes, closure and consolidation of churches and schools, and the painful clerical abuse scandal.
The archbishop understands that the pope, upon his arrival in the city that Saturday, will want to celebrate mass inside the cathedral here.
"It is a venue where there is only room for about 1,200 people, really crowding the place," Chaput says, "so it'll be a kind of ticketed event if it happens, but it will be something specifically for Philadelphia rather than for the World Meeting of Families."
And, Chaput says, he's also hearing that the "Popemobile" may be coming. The archbishop says it's traditional for the bishop of the diocese to climb aboard and have a seat near the pope.
"One of the things that I've noticed, though, when he does ride the popemobile, is the local bishop gets a ride with him," Chaput told KYW Newsradio. "I've never done that before, and, if he does ride the popemobile, I hope I have a seat."
One thing is certain. Chaput says even though he has a Pennsylvania driver's license, he's not expecting to be asked to drive the pope through town.
