PHILADELPHIA >> Before an audience of hundreds of thousands of people, Pope Francis completed his visit to Philadelphia, and the final leg of his tour of the United States, by celebrating Mass Sunday afternoon.
Pope Francis used his remaining moments in the City of Brotherly Love to preach a message of faith and love.
“Remember the little things, the gestures that often go overlooked,” said the pope, dressed in green vestments that symbolize ordinary time in the Catholic Church. “Love is shown in the little things.”
Christ, he said, encourages everyone to remember the little things as they are a sign of life and “active presence in the world.” He said God will provide for those who have faith.
Leading up to the Mass, people tried to catch a glimpse of the 78-year-old pontiff as he passed in the Popemobile flooded the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. Some claimed spots along the route as early at 6 a.m.
Pope Francis stopped the procession several times to kiss the heads of babies brought to him from the crowd by Secret Service personnel.
During his homily, the pope encouraged families to find ways to come closer together and strengthen their love for one another.
Behind the large altar constructed for the mass,in front of the steps of the Philadelphia Museum of Art, sat the ‘Amor’ statue, a Spanish take on the landmark statue found in Philadelphia’s Love Park made in honor of Pope Francis’s native language.
The challenge of serving communion to hundreds of thousands of recipients was handled relatively quickly and with apparent ease. Eucharistic ministers carrying yellow-and-white-striped umbrellas walked down the parkway in single file lines, breaking the crowd up into smaller sections and delivering wafers to those who waited.
The 300-member papal choir sang and the Philadelphia Orchestra played as the eucharistic ministers spread among the faithful.
Philadelphia Archbishop Charles Chaput said “Philadelphia has a very big heart that’s filled with gratitude” for Pope Francis’ visit. He thanked the pope for bringing his spirit to the city and to the world.
Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family, thanked the pope for helping to conclude the week-long World Meeting of Families, which included visitors from more than 100 countries.
Pope Francis ended the Mass with a message of gratitude.
“Thank you for your participation and for your love of family,” the pope said at the end of mass. “I ask you to pray for me. Don’t forget.” A roar from the crowd followed.
Pope Francis began his day at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary, in Wynnewood, where he celebrated Mass with the clergy and the seminarians. There he also met with a small group of sex abuse victims, including some who had been abused by clergy.
“I hold the stories, and the suffering and the sorrow of children who were sexually abused by priests deep in my heart,” the pope told the victims. “I remain overwhelmed with shame that men entrusted with the tender care of children violated these little ones and caused grievous harm. I am profoundly sorry. God weeps.”
Next, the pope boarded an Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft to Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility in Northeast Philadelphia to meet with prisoners.
The next World Meeting of Families will be held in Dublin, Ireland, in 2018.
