After spending time in New York and Washington, Pope Francis will spend the last day of his first trip to the U.S. in Philadelphia. The Pope has a full Sunday schedule in the city ahead of him before he flies back to Rome in the evening.
First on his list was a meeting with victims of clergy sexual abuse, but the Vatican has not confirmed the meeting until it becomes a reality. Rev. Federico Lombardi, the spokesman of the Vatican, said that these kinds of meetings are not publicly declared to give respect to the sensitivity of the situation, CNN reported. This meeting was followed with the Pope's visit to the bishops at the St. Martin Chapel located in the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary. The city is under two grand jury reports in relation to clergy sexual abuse of children and other issues such as closing parishes and schools.
After these initial meetings, the Pope will proceed to the largest prison facility in Philadelphia, the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. In the prison, he will be welcomed by prisoners and officers of the facility as well. The inmates also made a gift of a customized papal chair which Francis will use during his speech that will be watched by an estimated 2,800 inmates, according to NBC News.
The prison visit will be followed by an open-air mass that will be under tight security. Streets will be closed since the mass will take place where the vehicles are supposed to pass. Those who intend to attend the historical mass will have to go through a 1.6-mile corridor where they will be searched, Reuters reported. An estimated 1.5 million people should be expected during Pope Francis' last mass in the U.S. He is expected to head back to Rome at 8 p.m. ET.
