Philly is Mark Wahlberg's 'second home'

Although there were some skeptics in the crowd, I thought Mark Wahlberg gave a polished delivery during the officiating of Saturday night's Festival of Families. He didn't take himself too seriously or pretend to be something he was not, a fear I had when I first heard he was hosting.

In reference to the movie, "Ted," he said:

"Holy Father, please forgive me . . . I've always hoped the good Lord has a sense of humor when it comes and pertains to many of the movies that I've made."

The night before, I went to the red-carpet screening of "Invincible" at the Kimmel Center (300 S. Broad St.) and met Wahlberg.

It was part of a film festival put on for the World Meeting of Families hosted by Greater Philadelphia Film Office executive director Sharon Pinkenson and folks from Beneficial Bank. Vince Papale also was there. He's the former Philly Eagle who overcame the odds to play for the NFL in 1976, and is portrayed by Wahlberg in the film.

"I'm thrilled to be here. Philadelphia is like my second home," Wahlberg said.

"I've been named an honorary Philadelphian, which has been one of the proudest moments of my career. It's all about the people, the hardworking people."

We are family?

As previously reported by my esteemed colleague Vinny Vella, Sister Sledge performed Saturday night before Pope Francis sans the youngest of the sisters, Kathy Sledge, who was known for her iconic lead vocals on the international chart-topping hit "We Are Family."

I spoke with her yesterday to get the low-down as to why.

"I believe the show was booked misleadingly," she told me.

"There's a misconstrued report out there. I certainly want to clear this up. We were always intermittently in and out, and sometimes in different configurations. We have madness like any other family, but we've always come together when it counts."

Sledge said that it was her idea to pitch Sister Sledge for the pope's visit, and that it was advertised that all four sisters would be onstage. She sure thought she would be, as she said her likeness was being used in ads promoting it.

"I was more concerned about the disappointment of the fans," she said. "That's always been my concern from the beginning."

It's no secret the sisters have all explored their own solo projects in their careers, but over the years the group has typically reunited to perform for big events.

Sledge said she was in the audience Saturday night, but was denied clearance backstage or anywhere near her sisters. It wasn't until 3 a.m. yesterday that Sledge got word from her sisters that their "schedule was very demanding," but they could have "talks of reconciliation" in a couple of weeks.

"I felt like everyone would bury the hatchet and let's do it the way people love it and know it," she said of the group's fan-favorite hit song.

"But in the end, I think things surfaced and that's what's going on now. I feel good about that. Until you really get to the truth, that's the first step in real and true healing."

Philly Pops maestro Michael Krajewski flew last-minute from Orlando to Philly on Friday night to ensure that he was here in time to rehearse with members of the orchestra before they performed for Pope Francis on Saturday afternoon at Independence Hall.

"Pope Francis seems to genuinely care about all people and about making the world a better place," Krajewski said.

"It was an honor to lead members of the Philly Pops in a stirring performance of 'Fanfare for the Common Man' to herald his appearance before the huge crowd on Independence Mall."

Kenny Duncan, celebrity barber here in town, carved Pope Francis' face into the sides of heads all weekend during the papal visit.

Duncan owns Main Attraction Unisex Salon (135 S. 52nd St.), in West Philly, and most recently gave a haircut to actor Michael B. Jordan for the movie "Creed," which was partially shot in town.

In the spirit of humility and generosity, Duncan paid homage to the pope by giving what I've affectionately dubbed the "Francis fade" to faithful followers of the pontiff around Philadelphia.

Email: dehuffj@phillynews.com

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