On Sept. 26, the city of Philadelphia had the honor to host Pope Francis, who is the 266^th Pope of the Catholic Church. His visit also included New York and Washington D.C. He stayed in the States a total of six days. Millions of people, from all over the world, came to see the pontiff and his masses.

Jorge Mario Bergoglio, 78, is from Buenos Aires, Argentina. He became a priest in 1969, and was created a Cardinal in 2001. After Pope Benedict XVI, he was elected in on March 13, 2013, as Pope Francis. Since his time, he’s fought for the poor, informed the people about climate change and spoke out about homosexuality issues. “Who am I to judge them if they’re seeking the Lord in good faith?” Pope Francis told reporters in Brazil when they raised the question about homosexuality.

In Philadelphia, there was under a million people in the city. The media had estimated about 1.5 million people to come, overwhelming the city and its people. “I was impressed by how many people there are working to make this work. It took an enormous amount of organization. And everyone so nice, even the guys at the subway,” Marsha Rieas said, who is from Toledo, and is a representative for the World Meeting of Families. His biggest and final mass was 860,000 people. Security had set up 15 security checks before being allowed into the square that held the mass.

The Papal’s visit was a huge deal to America, because Popes in the past have only visited a total of 10 times, including this most recent visit. He blessed babies, stopped his car to kiss a little girl’s forehead who was being pushed away from security and visited the sick. “It was cool that The Pope came to the U.S.,” junior Hope Hunsberger said. “Except that he caused a lot of traffic.”

Pope Francis announced that he will be making a visit to Dublin, Ireland in 2018. Between his masses, little stops and presence, the American people, religious or not, will be talking about it for years to come.

Photo Credit: Dorothy O’Connor