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Perhaps it was his own unique experience as a young Polish man during World War II that inspired Saint Pope John Paul II to conceive of the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) in 1992. His mother passed when he was a child and his father died of a heart attack in 1941 – the second youngest and second longest-serving pope is quoted to have said “At 20, I had already lost all the people I loved.”
The WMOF saw its first celebration in Rome in ’94, the same year as the first United Nations-declared International Year of Families. The World Meeting takes place every three years in a different international location: Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in ’97; Rome again in 2000; Manilla, Philippines in ’03; Valencia, Spain in ’06; Mexico City in ’09; and Milan in ’12. Next year’s WMOF will be the first in America and takes place Sept. 21 through 27 at the Pennsylvania Convention Center and, theoretically, on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
The meeting includes an adult and youth congress, programming and breakout sessions at the center Sept. 22 through the congress close on Sept. 25. But the real excitement is an anticipated papal visit, with the words “anticipated” used at every opportunity.
“Until we receive an official document from the Vatican that the Holy Father is coming to Philadelphia,” Jack O’Brien told a crowd assembled in the cafeteria of St. Monica School at 16th and Ritner streets Oct. 8.
The Archdiocesan Director of Events, O’Brien said until they hear from the Vatican, they’ll be calling it an anticipated weekend of papal fanfare.
Pope John Paul II visited Philadelphia on a U.S. tour in 1979, touching down at the Philadelphia International Airport on Oct. 3 and proceeding up Broad Street, around City Hall and to the Cathedral of Ss. Peter and Paul. An estimated 1.2 to 2 million Philadelphia-area faithful turned out to greet and celebrate the 264th pope.
Pope Francis, the 266th pope, could arrive on Sept. 25 with a visit to Independence Mall, followed by an anticipated Festival of Families the next day on the Parkway, with a finale papal mass Sept. 27 at the foot of the Philadelphia Art Museum. As many or more than the ’79 papal visit figures are expected if the pope indeed crosses the Atlantic to North America.
Of the weekend activities, O’Brien said “they are open to the public — there are no tickets. No way did it cross my mind to put the pope in a stadium,” he added. “And that’s why we’ve taken this approach and the City of Philadelphia has been on board.”
With as many as 10,000 to 15,000 families descending upon Philadelphia for next fall’s congress, O’Brien and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia are coordinating efforts to accommodate any and all families. O’Brien said the week’s events will “showcase Philadelphia and the region in an unprecedented way to a global audience.”
If and when the pope arrives on Sept. 25, he’ll greet enthusiasts from a platform in front of Independence Hall.
“Think about that picture on media all over the world,” O’Brien commented.
The WMOF’s theme is “Love is our mission: the family fully alive,” and the archdiocese has developed a 10-chapter catechism for studying purposes. A year of preparation will be both logistical and intellectually thematic.
The ten chapters are: “Created for Joy,” “The Mission of Love,” “The Meaning of Human Sexuality,” “Two Become One,” “Creating the Future,” “All Love Bears Fruit,” “Light in a Dark World,” “A Home for a Wounded Heart,” “Mother, Teacher, Family: The Nature & Role of the Church” and “Choosing Life.”
“You’re listening to material you’ve just studied,” Lizanne Magarity Pando, Director of Marketing and Communications for the World Meeting of Families, said.
Keynote speakers will address these themes from all walks of life. WMOF staffers at the Marconi-based school said the speakers and visitors will come from all over the world and different faiths.
“We really feel it’s going to be very international,” Magarity Pando said.
So much so, in fact, that the archdiocese is encouraging faithful to host families through a website called homestay.com. In a video they played about how the site and process works, it opens with “We are inviting the world to visit – will you help us?”
“50,000 rooms were made available through this process when the World Meeting of Families happened in Milan,” Marty Nelson, the Diocese’s director of finance, said, advocating for folks to help if they can. “We want people to feel at home, to feel comfortable to come to Philadelphia and get involved with what’s going on.”
“We’ve contracted 4,400 hotel rooms and more throughout the city and surrounding areas like King of Prussia, Delaware, Bucks and Chester County and Wilmington,” exhibit and sponsorship coordinator Teresa Matozzo said.
The World Meeting of Families staff is also trying to plan and coordinate a concurrent film festival, the Philadelphia Museum of Art has commissioned the Vatican for items from the Vatican Museum, an exhibit of bibles from the American Bible Society will have its own separate entrance beside the Convention Center congress and the City of Philadelphia Mural Arts Program even plans to create a mural on-site to memorialize the process.
Registration rates start at $50 per day for youth and go up to $325 for an all-inclusive adult package that includes a SEPTA pass and a $100 debit card.
“How many people were here for the pope’s visit in 1979?” O’Brien asked and about two-thirds of the crowd raised their hands.
Questions raised were mostly about the papal visit, which were headed off with a refrain of “When we know, you’ll know.”
But organizers are feeling optimistic about the outpouring of concerns being mostly about getting involved and volunteering. Stefan Johnson, the special assistant to the Executive Director and St. Monica ’06 graduate, said “the most common questions we’re getting, undoubtedly the number one question is ‘How can I help?’”
They haven’t quite opened up volunteer registration, but when they do, Johnson said, they’ll hope to round up 10,000 volunteers. And with 219 parishes in the Philadelphia area, that’s 50 volunteers per parish.
O’Brien, who said he’s opened stadiums and worked on other huge projects, is confident this one is a really unique week of events that’ll be unlike anything Philadelphians have seen.
“This is an undertaking unlike anything I’ve ever done. It’s complex, it’s challenging, it’s exciting, it’s memorable and all of these pieces have to come together,” he said, after fielding questions about SEPTA and bus services before concluding, “It’s a tsunami, so you may as well be great ready for it.”
Staff Writer Bill Chenevert at bchenevert@southphillyreview.com or ext. 117.
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