It was one of those monumental weekends in Philadelphia.
We decided to spend time with the crowds of people.
It was such a unique cultural experience.
It was a friendly crowd with smiling people.
Lots of families, so much singing, and tons of police, national guard, secret service, etc.
There were people like us...just out with the crowd.
And there were families from all across the nation.
It was rather astounding to see families camping along the boulevard.
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| Police motorcycles. |
The department stores, shops, and restaurants were open!
It was a fun combination of too many people, good food, and shopping.
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| Waiting for the Pope to pass through. |
The usual traffic congested roads were eerily silent.
But served as a coach bus entrance and exit to our city.
I had counted 23 buses but they kept coming...so I moved on to the next thing.
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| Looking at 676 through the fence on 13th Street |
The train and subway was an experience all by itself!
When security wanted the crowds to disperse, they would open certain stations.
You then had to go through another security check.
And then it became a mass of people trying to squeeze into a smaller space.
The noise level in the station was overwhelming.
Needless to say, this was not one of my favorite moments.
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| Free Catholic literature. Free Wawa water. Free Pope signing. |
Our favorite part of the weekend was the conversations we had with so many different people.
Catholic lady from Chicago...seeking forgiveness for abortion, wanting to meet the Pope.
Business owner of a little pizza shop.
National Guard from Arizona...What do we believe about the Pope?
Asian Nuns.
The newlyweds from Costa Rica...What do we believe about marriage?
And the many homeless people...
Some were having the weekend of a lifetime, making lots of money from the kind hearted crowd. Others were simply trying to escape the crowd, find food, and a place to sleep.
The roads are once again traffic congested. The buses of people have left.
The public transportation schedule is finally on time and back to normal!
But all those thousands of people are still in our minds.
Do they know Jesus Christ of the Bible?
Do you and I know the man Jesus, the Son of God?
