Local Catholics Prepare To Travel To Philly For Papal Visit
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- The pope's visit to the United States is a huge deal for the Catholic church and it appears some local parishes are hoping to capitalize on all the attention.
Over the airways of local radio stations Monday morning, listeners heard a commercial from the pastor of Holy Trinity Ukrainian Catholic Church in Carnegie.
He referred to the visit of Pope Francis and all the attention it will bring as an opportunity for those who've lost connection with the church to come back.
"I grew up in a divorced home," said Father Jason Charron, "and for me coming back to church was not a giving up moment but a restarting moment and I think the Pope's visit will be a restarting moment for a lot of families in the area."
At the Diocese of Pittsburgh they're getting ready for the first hundred of an eventual 1,000 Pittsburgh pilgrims leaving tomorrow who will wear Pittsburgh black and gold colors but with a papal theme.
"We have 150 highly committed folks that are going to be pulling out at 6 a.m.," said Helene Paharik of the Diocese. "They're families of all varieties. We have seniors coming we have a family with six small children, we have single people, people from almost every county of the area will be coming out and they're going to stay for the week and attend the World Meeting of Families Congress. I mean, look what's happening in Cuba. Who would have thought Fidel Castro would be sitting down and having a gift exchange with the Pope. I do think it is his humanity that's drawing people and we certainly hope that everyone who's watching feels a message of hope and feels love."
And at St. Patrick-St. Stanislaus Parish in the Strip District, they're getting ready for a crowd to watch the Pope's Sunday Mass from Philadelphia on a big screen at 4 p.m.
"We have a 10-foot screen and we have a few prayers before and then we will watch the liturgy together as a group of Catholics and whomever. Everyone's welcome obviously," said Fr. Harry Nichols. "Whether we get five people or 50 or 100, or whatever, it'll be a great opportunity to be together around Pope Francis."
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