Pope Francis visited Philadelphia on this week in Philly history
Roughly 1 million people descended upon Philadelphia as Pope Francis became the second sitting pontiff to visit.
The pope who came in peace arrived in a Philadelphia seemingly under occupation.
For the roughly 1 million people who descended upon Philly to try to catch a glimpse of Pope Francis over his two-day visit in September 2015, there was an unprecedented level of security. Center City was put under 24-7 military supervision by armed personnel in vehicles stationed at busy intersections.
Francis, known throughout the world as a humanitarian and peacemaker, was only the second sitting pope to visit the City of Brotherly Love.
Security had not been as strict in 1979. When Pope John Paul II stepped off “Shepherd One” to kick off his not-quite 24-hour visit, he was met by a genuflecting Mayor Frank Rizzo before passing and waving to a mass of Catholics lined up on Broad Street.
Francis’ six-day tour covered three cities — including New York and Washington — as part of the first-ever World Meeting of Families, touted as the largest global gathering of Catholic families held on U.S. soil.
On his first night in town, in an address at Independence Hall, Francis emphasized the right to religious freedom, touched on immigration and the plight of refugees, and called for “peace, tolerance, and respect for the dignity and rights of others,” without specifically addressing same-sex marriage or abortion rights.
Despite the increased security, on night two, Francis rode in his popemobile up and down the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, to City Hall and back, before moving on to the night’s primary venue.
In an address on the Parkway, Francis preached to a throng of believers about the importance of family and again pleaded for more tolerance, faith, and love.
“Love is something we learn,” he said. “Love is something we live.”
Much like John Paul II’s visit, supporters filled Logan Square, streaming in from the Philadelphia Museum of Art, City Hall, and beyond. But despite being a sizable crowd, it was not as large as first anticipated because of the security restrictions.
To get in and out that night, visitors faced the aptly named papal box, which encased Center City in a safety cocoon. Vehicle travel was a nonstarter, with streets cut off by cement dividers, and pedestrians could enter the cocoon only after walking through serious-looking metal detectors.
Despite the restrictions, an overwhelming sense of joy permeated the city, as more than a million people united in celebration of a 78-year-old man and his relentless pursuit of a better world.
“It feels like a big embrace,” Katherine Brennan of Rhode Island told The Inquirer. “We feel like everybody here is family. This is a microcosm of what the world could be if we all embraced each other the way he does.”
