Pope Francis visits Philadelphia

Pope Francis delivers his speech in front of Independence Hall, Saturday, September 26, 2015, in Philadelphia.

Philadelphia is the final stop of the pope’s busy six-day visit to the USA, where he has already addressed Congress and the United Nation’s General Assembly.

Francis toured Philadelphia’s Independence Hall before addressing a crowd estimated at more than 40,000 outside the 18th century red brick building where basic American liberties were proclaimed and independence from Britain was declared.

Francis made his remarks from the same lectern Abraham Lincoln used to give the Gettysburg Address, a fitting setting for a speech stressing freedom.

Under Popes John Paul II and Benedict XVI, many USA bishops worked to shore up their authority, upsetting parishioners who had high expectations for more of a say in Catholic life.

“When you’re down here, it’s like we don’t need to be ashamed of being Catholic anymore”, Whittingham said. “To me, in that moment, he must have felt that blessing”, said Kristin Keating, a fourth-grade teacher from the Elverson area.”For us, it was attractive”, she added.

“But religious freedom also goes along with places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families”.

Francis noted that US history includes ending slavery in the 1860s and “the gradual effort to eliminate every kind of racism and prejudice directed at successive waves of new Americans”.

The Pope called religious freedom “one of America’s most precious possessions”.

Many in the audience waved flags from Mexico and Central American states.

In unscripted remarks on a separate subject, the pope also said globalization is good if it does not destroy the riches and distinctiveness of peoples.

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Mary McGuiness, a religion professor at La Salle University, a Catholic school in Philadelphia, said she doesn’t anticipate a flood of local Catholics returning to Sunday Mass because of the pope’s visit.

“This is a city that would change its name to “Francisville” today if we could do that without inconveniencing the rest of North America”, Chaput said to laughs and then a long round of applause. He said immigrants should be responsible citizens and not get discouraged by hardships.

He said the ideal of interfaith dialogue is for men and women from different traditions to come together in peace.

Following an arduous schedule in New York and Washington on the back of a four-day trip to Cuba, the 78-year-old Francis stumbled several times as he climbed the stairs of the American Airlines jet taking him from JFK to Philadelphia.

Pope Francis had already referred on the trip to his own immigrant status as a son of Italian parents in his native Argentina and his pride at being in the United States, a country largely built by immigrant families.

At mass, Pope Francis called for increased participation in the church from those not affiliated with the clergy, and stressed the importance of recognizing women’s contributions to society.