PHILADELPHIA, Sept. 27 (UPI) -- Pope Francis is entering the final leg of his whirlwind United States trip Sunday with a farewell mass and visits with bishops and prison inmates.
As many as a million people are expected to celebrate Mass with the pope, with some beginning to arrive before dawn for the 4 p.m. mass on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway, outside the Philadelphia Art Museum.
Francis will begin his day with a stop at St. Charles Borromeo Seminary to meet with bishops who had come to the city for the World Meeting of Families. His comments during the visit, which is closed to the public, will likely focus on family, a frequent theme during his trip in addition to the environment, immigration and religious and social freedoms.
From there, he will go to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility to meet with 95 select inmates, their families and prison staff. Of those chosen to visit with Francis, nine are charged with murder, 15 with rape, five with robbery, and 12 with assault. Eighteen face drug offenses and six prostitution charges. Many of the inmates are pretrial. They are male and female; white, black, Hispanic; Christian and Muslim. Some of the inmates have made Francis a hand-carved chair.
The final mass is likely to draw the biggest crowd of his visit, with some estimates hitting the million-person mark.
He is scheduled to return to Rome at 8 p.m.
Last night was amazing. Heading back to get close spot for the papal mass. #PopeinUS #PopeinPhilly #PapaEnUSA pic.twitter.com/y5oCQNXger
— Sr Theresa Sullivan (@SisterTheresaS) September 27, 2015
