It’s impossible to estimate how many people are involved with welcoming the World Meeting of Families to Philadelphia from Tuesday, September 22nd through Sunday, September 27th, with Pope Francis joining the celebration on September 26th and 27th.

The People of St. Laurentius Church at Memphis and Berks Street in Philadelphia’s Fishtown section had placed their welcome to Pope Francis on a billboard located at the Allegheny Avenue Exit of Southbound Interstate I-95 for the past 7 weeks. It welcomes Pope Francis to Philadelphia and invites him to visit our church and the Fishtown community. The billboard has been seen by more than 100,000 people traveling southbound on I-95 each day. The billboard has been highlighted in newspapers, websites, radio programs and has been emailed to tens-of-thousands of people. The feedback has been outstanding and we appreciate hearing from people who want our church to remain a historic part of Fishtown and a tribute to the Polish immigrants that founded this magnificent church as a tribute to faith, culture, pride and community.  

We would be honored to have Pope Francis visit St. Laurentius Church. We offer him a warm welcome to the Fishtown community and would love to show him all the good will we have to offer. After all the publicity we received from the billboard, everyone knows he is invited if his schedule permits.

I thank the editors and staff of the Spirit Newspaper for all the coverage they have provided to our Historic St. Laurentius Church. Your coverage in the Spirit Newspaper and the coverage of our efforts has united the community and they are very much appreciated.