Philadelphia: Last Stop of Pope Francis’ Visit to the U.S.

HAVANA, Cuba, Sep 27 (acn) Pope Francis will end on Sunday his 10-day tour of Cuba and the United States with a Mass in Philadelphia, which will serve as culmination of the 8 th World Meeting of Families.
After an intense day of activities on Saturday, the Supreme Pontiff met on Sunday morning with bishops at the San Martin chapel and the San Carlos Borromeo Seminary, and then visited the Curran-Fromhold Prison.
Scheduled for the afternoon was the papal Mass that will close the activities of the World Meeting of Families, prelude to the Synod on this social institution to be held at the Vatican on October 4-25, Prensa Latina reported.
The Pope will also participate in a visit with organizers, volunteers and benefactors of that meeting in the Atlantic Aviation, which will precede his departure for Rome, scheduled for eight o'clock in the evening.
In this way, Pope Francis will end the longest trip of his pontificate, since he arrived on the 22nd in the United States from Cuba, where he carried out an intense pastoral visit starting from September 19.
On Saturday, His Holiness officiated at Mass in the Cathedral of St. Peter and St. Paul in Philadelphia, where he praised again the role of women in the Catholic Church and called lay people to act, "in a rapidly changing society".
Also on Saturday the Supreme Pontiff went to Independence Mall in Philadelphia –cradle in 1776 of the Declaration of Independence of the Thirteen Colonies- where once again The Pope with met tens of thousands of followers crowded to greet him and listen to his message on immigration and religious freedom.
Finally, the Bishop of Rome attended the Festival of Families at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
During this northern tour, Pope Francis met with President Barack Obama at the White House, gave speeches before both Congress and the United Nations General Assembly, and paid tribute to the victims of the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001.