The six-day apostolic journey inspired millions of people across not only the United States but throughout the world.
Getting around the city of Philadelphia by vehicle was nearly impossible during the pope’s visit but the city was well-prepared for that to happen.
Preparation for the pontiff’s visit had begun weeks in advance and security measures were enforced on college campuses in the area as well as class cancelations due to road closings.
There were some Philadelphians who believed that the precautions were too extreme but, without them, Francis’ visit might have not been such a success as it was.
Thankfully, the city had been well aware of warnings of potential incidents that could occur with a large and diverse crowd of people from all around the world.
Due to the fact that it is a amazing life opportunity to be able to see the pope, many were pleased that the city was taking his visit as seriously as they did.
Major highways were shut down for the pope’s visit beginning on Friday, Sept. 25, 2015.
To get into Center City to see the pope at the Festival of Families on Saturday was at first seen as a big difficulty due to the great number of people estimated to be in the city before the pope’s arrival. Surprisingly, the subway was one of the easiest forms of transportation to take to see Pope Francis.
Around 5 p.m., people residing in Philadelphia, who had access to a nearby subway, started to make their way down to the center city area.
Getting on the subway at Cecil B. Moore was less crowded than expected and was a fairly quick ride that local residents, Temple University students and visitors took advantage of.
Vendors crowded around the streets selling Pope Francis t-shirts, buttons and flags. Also, posters of Francis were being signed in hopes that he would take them home as a gift from the people of Philadelphia.
Depending on the street, it was not as difficult as the city expected when it came to walking around the downtown area.
Security was tight, which made it difficult to find a spot by the gates in order to see the pope drive by on his way to the festival stage in front of the Philadelphia Art Museum.
The festival was open to the public and many were shocked but also relieved that they could get into the event and actually see the pope.
Tickets to the festival were limited in the area of the direct vicinity of the pope, but that didn’t stop thousands from surrounding the gates that blocked off the streets in order to see Francis ride by in his white Jeep Wrangler.
Nearby security guards were very helpful sources to use to find out where people could go see the pope drive by, even if they did not have tickets into the direct vicinity.
Benjamin Franklin Parkway was very spacious for the crowds, which allowed thousands of people that were attending the public event to get a glimpse of the pope.
At about 7:10 p.m., thousands that surrounded the streets took out their smartphones to get pictures and videos of Francis in the parade.
As Francis drove by, he waved to the crowds that were cheering and waving flags in his honor. He did a loop around the downtown area before heading to the festival.
People in the crowds came from all around the world and had several different stories about how Francis’s visit impacted them. Regardless of what religion people believed in, thousands were filled with emotion in anticipation and after his presence.
Even though there were millions of people who wanted to see the pope that could not get passes to the events he was hosting, there were many ways to get a quick glance of him go by.
People will forever cherish that moment of his presence. The global celebration of joy and love was only one of several events he held across the world this weekend and thousands were thankful to be able to take part in that.
The pope’s visit to city of Brotherly Love was his last stop in his six-day historical visit before departing back to Rome on Sunday, Sept. 27, 2015.
Major highways across the Philadelphia area reopened on Monday, Sept. 28, 2015 around 5 a.m.
