
Remembering When Pope Francis Came To Philadelphia
by Alex Lloyd Gross
Pope Francis died today. He was 88 years old and had recently been diagnosed with a respiratory crisis that developed into double pneumonia. He spent most of February and March of this year in the hospital, a total of 38 days.

Alex Lloyd Gross -Delaware Valley News.com File Photo Pope Francis on the Ben Franklin Parkway.
In September of 2015, he made a trip to the United States and during some of that trip he came to Philadelphia. It was all anyone could talk about for a month prior to his visit. Security was unprecedented. Roads were gong to be completely closed and parking was almost non existent in center city. To insure this, jersey barriers were placed at parking lot entrance ways and garages.


Media had to go through a special credentialing process that started months in advance. Not everyone got a credential. There were multiple events from the arrival to the departure, culminating with a mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway. Over one million people chose top come out to see Pope Francis in person. For most, they had to watch him on a jumbotron or through binoculars. He was a little more than a white dot given the distance most people were.

Alex Lloyd Gross -Delaware Valley News.com/File Photo- Pope Francis arrives in Philadelphia.
Most of the events were open to the public. Others were not. He went to CFCF in northeast Philadelphia to visit with inmates. He arrived via an American Airlines jet . He spoke at Independence Hall about religious freedom. Media who were credentialed for an event had to spend at least 10 hours dedicated to that location.

The arrival required a security screening at the Pennsylvania Convention Center. That was at 4:00 AM. By 5:00 AM media were put on chartered buses with a police escort to the airport. The arrival for the media was about 6:00 AM. The Pope would not arrive for another four hours. He spent about 15 minutes at the airport, and blessed a critically ill child. When he descended the steps of his plane, he was met by a throng of well wishes and greets from city and state government. He then entered his car and drove to his first event. It would be about 90 minutes before the media could get cleared to depart back to the convention center.
Every public appearance would feature the Pope mobile and every so often, the pontiff would stop to bless a child. On the last day of his two day visit g he held a mass on the parkway. He was driven around in the pope mobile and people would clamor for photos or to have their child blessed. When he turned his head in one direction, half the crowd could see him clearly. The other side of the street saw the back of his head. He kept alternating during his ride to the stage, where he would give his mass. He was a pope of the people and was said to be displeased at the massive security surrounding his visit.

Alex Lloyd Gross -Delaware Valley News.com File Photo The Pope is greeted at the airport.
An inter agency command post was set up a few miles away with a view of the city. It was there that the events could be coordinated.
When he boarded his plane he turned at the top step to wave at the crowd. He took with him fond memories of the city of Philadelphia and possibly a few gifts he was given. Prior to this visit, it was October 1979 when a pope visited Philadelphia.
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