PHILADELPHIA >> Among those ready to greet Pope Francis at the Philadelphia airport was the Bishop Shanahan High School marching band.
Band director Chuck Keating said the 84 members were notified last month they would be playing for the pope’s arrival. That’s when he decided to go quintessential Philly and play the “Rocky” theme.
“It’s exciting,” Keating said. “Just seeing the excitement in the kids’ eyes is awesome.”
The students were equally electrified to be part of the historic event.
“I think to have this honor is really unbelievable,” Gabby Wheeler, an 11th grade flutist, said. “We’re just a random band. Not everybody gets to do it.”
Getting up at 2:30 a.m. to get to school in order to go through the clearance was no big deal.
“It’s worth it,” Wheeler said. “It’s really worth it.”
Sophomore Kate O’Neill, also a flute player, hoped to take away a little of the magic of the moment.
“It’s really incredible, really,” O’Neill said. “I just feel like I want to go home and be holier than I am now.”
