It was released by Vatican Radio this morning that Pope Francis will indeed be attending the 2015 World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia. This meeting will be running form September 22-27th, and is focused on the mission of “Love is Our Mission: The Family is Fully Alive.” This meeting also fully compliments the view of marriage being sacred only between a man and a woman.
Some people will be surprised that Pope Francis has decided to come to the conference after his earlier reluctance. Originally the Pope was debating coming to the United States for security reasons. Pope Francis, after his visit, will be one of four popes that have visited the United States after being voted into office. The other two popes were Paul VI in 1965, John Paul II who visited on 7 different occasions, and Benedict XVI in 2008.
Pope Francis’ announcement came as such:
“I wish to confirm according to the wishes of the Lord, that in September of 2015, I will go to Philadelphia for the World Meeting of Families… Thank you for your prayers with which you accompany my service to the Church. Bless you from my heart.”
Pope Francis will be welcomed by the strong faith community within the city, and many citizens will journey from all over the country to attempt to meet him.
This meeting will also take place for the first time in the United States and will occur a few weeks before the yearly Synod on family and its role in the Church.