Pope Francis will be attending the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia on Saturday, Sept. 26 and saying Mass on the parkway in Philadelphia on Sunday, Sept 27. Three area Catholic churches will be sending representatives or participants to events on both days.
Fr. Phillips Rodgers, pastor of St. Benedict’s church in Mohnton will concelebrate Mass on Sunday with Pope Francis while Deacon Thomas Murphy of Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Bally has signed up to help distribute the holy Eucharist to the faithful at the same Mass.
St. Benedict’s parish is running two buses to the Sunday mass, according to parish secretary Jeanie Hauck. She notes that starting Sept. 21, the parish is also offering day trips of carpooling to anyone to wants to go to Philadelphia’s convention center or Franklin Institute to see artifacts from the Vatican. Several parishioners from St. Benedict’s have offered housing to the pilgrims attending the World Meeting of Families. Two parishioners, Sharon Helms and Sandy Bach, will be volunteering at the World Meeting of Families for the week.
St. Columbkil’s parish in Boyertown has been preparing for the World Meeting of Families for months by saying the World Meeting of Families prayer every Sunday at Mass and including an intersession for the event in the daily mass, according to St. Columbkil’s pastor, Fr. Martin Kern. He said the parish is also sending a bus for anyone interested in attending the Papal mass on Sunday, noting that anyone interested in attending is encouraged to call the parish office.
“This is a once in a lifetime event. It’s a chance to be in the presence of the Pope,” Kern says.
For anyone that is interested in the event, but can’t attend the event in Philadelphia, St. Columbkil’s and Most Blessed Sacrament will be hosting a viewing of the mass at St. Columbkil’s with a large screen television located in the church’s sanctuary. Attendees will also be treated to a pig roast.
“It is an alternative for those who want to attend the Philadelphia event but can’t. It will be a way to watch and celebrate as a community, as Catholics – the universal church – on a local level.” He estimates over 100 people will be at the pig roast. Those attending are asked to simply bring a covered dish that can feed 10 people.
Most Blessed Sacrament church in Bally is sending a bus to the World Meeting of Families on Saturday. “It will be a unique experience,” predicts Msgr. Edward Coyle, pastor of Most Blessed Sacrament Church. “There will be a sense of ‘church’, the universal church, with all nations praying together.” The crowds don’t overly concern Coyle as he expects a similar sense of community to those he experienced during the 1976 Eucharist Congress, which was held in Philadelphia, and Pope John Paul II’s visit to Philadelphia. “Everyone was nice and kind. It truly was the city of brotherly love.”
Those attending the MBS bus will pray the evening prayer on the bus and the night prayer on the way home. Coyle notes there will be a long walk from where the buses are permitted to park to where the Pope will be speaking, but predicts that will also enhance the sense of community and spiritually of the trip/event.
The Chovanes family of Barto and Most Blessed Sacrament parish will be attending some or all of the World Meeting of families’ congress, held at the Convention Center. Margaret and her husband, George, will be attending the classes and listening to the speakers at the event while their children, Caitie, Michael, Christina and her husband, Mark, will also take advantage of the opportunities the event offers.
“From the beginning, when they started talking about it a year ago, we knew we wanted to hear the speakers which are world-renowned,” Margaret says. She notes that with an opportunity to hear and see these speakers so close to home, it was an event they knew they wanted to participate in. She recalls when Pope John Paul II was in Philadelphia and expects a similarly positive experience. “It is a way to participate in our faith, “she says.
Jennifer Smith, 22, of Gilbertsville, will travel to Philadelphia to see the Pope on the Most Blessed Sacrament bus. “I think it will be a marvelous experience to be able to go and see him,” Jennifer says. “It’s something you dream about,” she continues, “To be able to see and hear him personally” will be such a spiritual experience. Jennifer is a teacher at St. Francis Academy in Bally and notes that as a religion teacher, it will also be an experience she can share with her students. This will also be an experience she will share with her mother, Karen Smith, who will also be on the bus. Karen had the opportunity to see Pope John Paul II when he was in Philadelphia in 1979. She remembers the stories her mother shared about the 1979 Papal visit which amplifies her excitement for the Sept. 26 visit.
Anyone interested in attending the events with the parishes should call the parish offices for more information:
St. Benedicts – 610-856-1006St. Columbkil – 610-367-2371
Most Blessed Sacrament – 610-845-2460
Top InvitationMsgr. Edward Coyle, pastor of Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Bally, and who presently serves as the National Chaplain for the Catholic War Veterans of American, has been invited to the White House to attend the welcoming ceremony on the South Lawn when the pope visits Washington, DC, on September 23.
