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| Photo by Teresa Siwak from The Way |
World
Meeting of Families to be Held in Philadelphia in 2015;
Expectations
are High that Pope Francis will Attend
Philadelphia,
Pa.—September 22-27, 2015, the City of Brotherly Love will host the World
Meeting of Families, which is expected to draw one million people and will be
viewed around the world. The World
Meeting of Families organized by the Pontifical Council for the Family, headed
by Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia, president of the council, is held every three
years.
His
Holiness, Pope Francis has been invited to the 2105 meeting and hopes are high
that he will be able to attend. The last
papal trip to Philadelphia was that of St. John Paul II in October, 1979, which
included a visit to the Ukrainian
Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
The
theme of the 2015 meeting was announced at a press conference held Tuesday, May
13 on the veranda at the Independence Visitor Center at the site of the Liberty
Bell.. With Archbishop Paglia,
Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Philadelphia,
joined by Metropolitan Stefan Soroka, of the Ukrainian Catholic Archeparchy of
Philadelphia, Governor of Pennsylvania Tom Corbett and Philadelphia Mayor
Michael Nutter announced that the theme is “Love Is Our Mission: The Family
Fully Alive.”
Archbishop
Paglia commented that "I would like
that this event would be an international event, an ecumenical event, and an
interreligious event. . . I think it is really important that the next World
Meeting of Families will be held in Philadelphia. The city, the nation and the world would
celebrate the importance of family . . . for all people."
During
his brief three day visit to Philadelphia, Archbishop Paglia visited religious
and historical sites in Philadelphia as possible locations for events during
the 2015 meeting and for an expected papal visit.
Included in his itinerary was a
visit to the Ukrainian Catholic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception on
Franklin Street in North Philadelphia. Archbishop Paglia offered prayers for
peace in Ukraine, joined by his delegation and members of the chancery
staff. He greeted all with the Paschal
greeting Христос
воскрес! Khrystos Voskres!
Some
of the other sites he visited included the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and
Paul, the Shrine of St. John Neumann, and the Philadelphia Museum of Art, where
on the steps he struck the iconic Rocky pose.
After
leaving Philadelphia, his travels took him to New York City to visit the United
Nations.
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Video by Teresa Siwak from "The Way"
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