The crush to get an early start on Septa’s regional rail wasn’t nearly as bad as expected the morning when Pope Francis was coming to town.
Plenty of seats were available for trains leaving from the Primos, Warminster and Norristown stations at 5:30 a.m.
“I am really surprised there aren’t more people here,” said Dave Corsi, who was joined by Ed Fite as the first two to stand behind the barriar created by Upper Darby police on Cottonwood Lane across from the Primos station. “Everybody told me it was going to be crazy, so I got out here early.”
At just after 5 a.m. at the Warminster station, a small crowd of about 20 people stood in line.
Steven Dunyatsy of Northbridge, Mass., with his wife and friends, was one of them. He said he and his family drove five hours Friday afternoon from their home located about 30 miles west of Boston to Warminster.
“Zero traffic,” he said. “Honestly. (I was) very surprised.”
When asked what he was looking to see when he got into the city, Dunyasty said “that warm feeling coming through my body when I get close to him.” The Norristown Transportation Center station was a little more crowded.
Between 100-150 people, according to one Septa employee on the train, took advantage of the first train.
That included about 30 sisters of the Missionaries of Charity, the order founded by Blessed Teresa of Calcutta (Mother Teresa). The sisters passed the time in line by singing. The Missionaries of Charity established a mission home at St. Patrick’s convent in Norristown, and most of the sisters present yesterday traveled from across the country to see Pope Francis.
While the Norristown and Warminster lines brought passengers into Jefferson Station (about two blocks from the security checkpoint to get around City Hall), Primos riders left off at University City, about a 2-mile walk to the heart of the activity.
“It really doesn’t bother me,” said Fite. “I walked across the country last year (to raise money for charity). I’m just excited he is going to be here and I might have a chance to see him.
“I wanted to make sure I got here early so there would be no delay. I’m going to walk around a bit and find the best place I’ll be able to see Pope Francis.”
Foruth-grader Ryan Chandler was bright eyed and bushy tailed at 5 a.m. when he arrived in Primos with Jen Chandler and friend Deni Blithe.
“This is awesome,” Ryan Chandler said. “I get to see the pope!”
When they first heard Pope Francis was coming to Philadelphia the Chandler’s and Blithe knew where they would be today.
“No doubt we were going down,” Blithe said. “This wasn’t on my bucketlist, but it is now. We want to be the first down there.”
For Rob and Mary Jo Schuette, this trip was a year in the making.
“We’ve been planning this ever since it was announced Ppe Francis was coming to the United States,” Rob Schuette said.
The Schuettes, with their 2 young sons, John-Paul, 10, and Steve, 7, were in line at the Norristown Transportation Center to catch the 5:30 a.m. train to Jefferson Station. With tickets to tonight’s Festival of Families event and tomorrow’s papal mass on the parkway, the family agreed the drive in from their home in Cincinnati, Ohio will be well-worth the effort. And they speak from experience.
“For our first anniversary,” Mary Jo Schuette said, “we went to Rome, and we have a beautiful photograph of us kneeling righ tin front of the pope.”
John-Paul and Steve are only looking forward to one theing during their first trip to Philadelphia.
“The pope,” they said, in unison.
Meanwhile, Jack and Ellen Martin, of Southhampton, Bucks County, two volunteers with the World Meeting of Families were also in line at Warminster.
“We’re going to the Sheraton Hotel,” Jack said. “Our duties will be to get the priests and bishops who are all coming in, we’re going to greet them and see that they have all of their papers in order.”
“And then we go onto the Parkway after that,” Ellen said. “Double duty. It’s exciting it’s wonderful to be a part of it. And the most important thing is the whole World Meeting of Families.”
The half hour train ride to Jefferson Station was a quiet one as the sun still had not risen over the horizon. Departing at 5:35 a.m. trip making no stops seemed to fly by.
Once arriving at Jefferson, posted signs informed passengers they would all have to exit up the stairs outside onto Filbert Street.
Walking down toward the intersection of 12th and Filbert streets, the group from Warminster began to go their separate ways. A large group of singing nuns dressed in white habits with blue stripes excitedly made their way along the sidewalk heading in the opposite direction. Behind them stood a U.S. Army National Guard officer next to a parked Humvee.
“This is really interesting to see the city like this,” said Corsi as he walked down South Street. “They really shut everything down.”
Eric Devlin and Cheryl Kehoe Rodgers contributed to this report.
