The papal motorcade passed by S’s office earlier today. S texted a picture of Francis waving from the Fiat. He also texted pictures of the snipers on the area rooftops. He said the security detail is massive.
The Pope flies out of NYC Saturday morning.
Philly is calling it “Pope-adeggon” and “Pope-a palooza” among other things. It has been headline news for weeks. The city is pretty much shut down and if I lived in center city I would get out of town for the weekend. The signs all along the Turnpike to Pittsburgh warn of traffic problems due to the Pope’s visit. Seriously? Doctors and nurses are living at their hospitals for days, all city schools and most colleges are closed. I wonder how small businesses will do.
I do like this Pope. I like that he wanted to visit a prison and stopped his car to bless a sick child. I like that he doesn’t wear all the fancy jewelry and hats and so forth. I read that he declined to dine with congressional leaders in favor of meeting real people.
Actually, he rejected lunch with congressional leaders and ate with the homeless.
I don’t understand wanting to be part of mobs of people at all. I’m going to be near Philly next week. Please tell me hell be gone by then.
Traffic on the Virginia side was lighter than normal this morning. Around 5pm I saw at least 20 coach buses at one metro stop. The last time I saw this many buses was for the inauguration. It is nice to see everyone coming together to share in peace and faith. We see so much negativity in the news and social media. We read hateful comments at the end of many articles posted online. It is refreshing to get away from that and see people united in peace and prayer. Definitely a day to be remembered. The sight is very moving.
Viva il papa!
The bodega in D’s Manhattan apartment building featured a “Holy Ham and Swiss the Pope is Coming to Town” egg sandwich this morning. 
In the news today they mentioned that Fiat sales are expected to go up with all the free promotion they are getting. Not sure it would be safe to drive during the northeast winter though based on last year’s snowfall.
Exciting watching Philly prepare for this event. Scott Mirkin’s company organizing the event and he states 40% of country’s population a days drive from. Philly.
And, I laughed when I read this. How many people can say this ? "
“One day I’m on a call with the bishops, the next I’m on with Nicki Minaj,” Mr. Mirkin said.
Trip to America is funny. He’s not getting any sense of the US by visiting DC or NY;)
As for his thoughts on capitalism…it should not be forgotten that capitalists are the reason the Cathedral marble is white again (over $100m in Wall St donations) and it sits right next door to that bastion of consumer spending: Saks Fifth Avenue!
I have to go in today, but it shouldn’t be too bad. The closest I have to get is Park/47th. Tomorrow (Friday) I’m working from home!
I’m Presbyterian but I love this pope - mostly for his (seemingly genuine) interest in the poor and the oppressed and his apparent disinterest in the trappings of his office (no red Prada shoes for this guy.) I also love his focus on joy and love. I understand that he’s not changing traditional Catholic doctrine, but I think that his emphasis on service, hope, and love are refreshing.
I love Pope Francis’s emphasis on serving the poor and those that society has pushed to the side. His disdain for consumerism and predatory capitalism is also a breath of fresh air.
My daughter lives in Philly, near the city center. She and her boyfriend are getting out of town. Unfortunately, the roads they would need to use to get back to their apartment Sunday evening will still be closed. So they have to park their car in New Jersey and take the train in (fortunately, this train is still running). Luckily, she can take the train to work Monday morning. A lot of her coworkers are working from home.
I don’t know about that. He refused lunch with congressional leaders to have it with homeless people. How more american can it get? Hungry among the riches, lonely in the crowd?
Where does he keep his brain? 120 million people in a 60 mile radius?
I love how much people want to believe that there really is someone who walks the walk – even while acknowledging Catholic churches and other denominations have plenty of problems. I think it’s really interesting how people yearn for a compassionate world, and aren’t always sure what to do about that. I’m not Catholic, but I am inspired by his papacy, and looking forward to my Popeadelphia shirt! (We have family in Philly, and I’ve been given the choice of a bobblehead or the shirt…)
Agree with scout and NovaDad. I’m Episcopalian (formerly RC, not going back), but I really love Pope Francis. He has his priorities in place.
My Episcopal priest daughter is very impressed with Pope Francis, but she still recognizes the problems the Catholic church AND her own still have.
I’m an atheist-- raised Catholic, not going back-- but I’m impressed with how Pope Francis lives the Gospels. Instead of washing the feet of Cardinals to show humility, he washed the feet of Muslim criminals. He’s having lunch with homeless people. I love his message of inclusiveness and love, including love of God’s creation.
The Pope is not visiting the US as a tourist.
If you think a day’s driving from Philadelphia only gets you to a 60 mile radius, you either drive very slowly or Philly has worse traffic than I have ever experienced.
I just finished listening to his remarks to Congress. It was amusing to see him speaking so strongly about the value of life in all its stages, with the pro-lifers leaping to their feet and clapping madly, only to give them whiplash when, before they’d even sat down, he said because he values life he opposes the death penalty.
In his address to Congress, I loved what he said about the importance of family to this nation.