GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. -- Pope Francis will be making his first trip to the United States as the head of the Catholic Church in an event in 2015, and families within the Grand Rapids Catholic Diocese have the opportunity to attend the event in person.
The Pope will be appearing at the World Meeting of the Families in September of 2015, which will be held in Philadelphia this year. Approximately 15,000 people are expected to attend, but given the Pope's confirmed attendance, that number could be as high as two million people. The Catholic public event celebrates the family as the basic building block of society.
Local families will have three opportunities to participate in the upcoming visit: by traveling to Philadelphia independently, on buses arranged by the diocese, or virtually through the internet. Live streaming of the keynote presentations will be available online and at designated sites throughout the diocese. Additional information will be made available here.
“This is an international gathering for all families – at whatever age, whatever the family structure, and whatever faith tradition; all are welcome,” said Mark Mann, director of family, youth and young adult ministry for the Diocese of Grand Rapids in a recent media release.
Registration to attend the World Meeting of Families is available here. Held every three years since its inception by Saint John Paul II in 1994, the World Meeting of Families (WMF) has grown to be the largest Catholic gathering of families in the world.
