Rome-ward bound, day 1

Greetings from Rome! A pretty jet lagged Philadelphia delegation – plus the press corps tagging along to watch them – landed around 9:30 a.m. Roman time.

Aside from one medical emergency, which turned out to be minor, the flight was smooth sailing. Still, hearing the announcement "Is anyone on the plane a doctor?," mid-way across the Atlantic Ocean, was pretty frightening (we heard it was a minor asthma attack and all is now well).

I'll be here covering Mayor Nutter and Archbishop Charles Chaput's four-day Rome trip in which they are finalizing papal visit planning.

Today was pretty basic. Organizers and Nutter said plans are well underway and fundraising is in good shape. The delegation met with U.S. Ambassador to the Holy See, Kenneth Hackett, who has quite the impressive resume. His work with Catholic Relief Services spanned 40 years and work in 100 countries .

Other things I learned today – the Vatican Press office has a vending machine and a coffee machine making them look a lot more like your typical press office than I'd envisioned. I pictured ornately carved desks and lots of regal portraits.

I would also wager a bet that nowhere in the world are there more selfie sticks for sale than in Saint Peter's Square. Not pictured here: the hoard of salesmen who swarmed me after I stupidly took this photo. (I stayed strong and did not purchase one.)

Coming up tomorrow, we find out who is going to perform at this big Festival of Families concert Saturday Sept. 26. Any guesses?

- Julia Terruso