Philadelphia Prepares for Papal Visit and Catholic Gathering of Families in September

By Alison Lesley --
14 Jun 2015 --

The world’s largest Catholic gathering of families will be held in Philadelphia in September, and Pope Francis will attend the event during his first-ever visit to the United States.

Donna Crilley Farrell is the woman in charge of organizing the World Meeting of Families and the papal visit.

Philly.com reports that the conference, co-sponsored by the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family and the archdiocese of Philadelphia, is estimated to bring delegates from 150 nations and 5,000 to 7,000 journalists to Philadelphia in September. More than 1.5 million people are expected to come to see the pope.

As executive director of the World Meeting of Families, Donna Crilley Farrell heads a 15-committee organization responsible for organizing the conference, and the papal visit. Francis is to attend a family festival Saturday, Sept. 24, on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. The pope will also lead Sunday Mass the next day outside the Philadelphia Museum of Art.

Logo unveiled for Pope Francis @Pontifex visit to Philadelphia @ArchPhilly for @WMF2015 #WorldMeetingofFamilies pic.twitter.com/XjgixocdKc
— Matt Simansky (@ActionNewsMatt) June 10, 2015

Describing her job as once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Crilley Farrell and her team organize transportation, lodging, communication and security for the conference and the adjoining events. One of her biggest concerns at the moment is recruiting host families. 10,000 volunteers are needed, and half of them are already recruited.

Secret Service is in charge of security, and meets daily with local, state, and federal government agencies.

CatholicPhilly.com reports that more than 200 works of art from the Vatican will be on display at Philadelphia’s Franklin Institute from September to February. 40 percent of the works of art in the “Vatican Splendors” exhibition, including paintings, sculptures and rare artifacts, have never been shown publicly before anywhere. Crilley Farrell said that “we are going to make Philadelphia shine its brightest in September,” adding that the exhibition which connects the World Meeting of Families and the papal visit will be “a show-stopper for visitors and Catholics in our region.”

The World Meeting of Families is held in every three years. In 2012 the conference took place in Milan, Italy.