Have you heard? The pope is coming.
Pope Francis made it official in the middle of the night early Monday, confirming that he will come to Philadelphia in September for the World Meeting of Families.
Part of the festivities will be an outdoor Mass on Logan Circle on the Ben Franklin Parkway, reminiscent of the glorious sight of Pope John Paul II celebrating Mass with more than a million of his closest friends back in 1979.
This time conference leaders are saying the throng could hit the two million mark.
The conference will be an economic blockbuster for the region. Expect hotel rooms for that week to start disappearing fast. The guess here is that hotel rooms in Delco also will be sold out.
To find out how Delco reacted to the news, click here.
Even though it was pretty much a foregone conclusion that the pontiff would attend, it's still big news, for a lot of reasons.
The eyes of the world will focus on Philly for the World Meeting of Families, set for Sept. 22-27. The pope is, after all, a head of state, that being the Vatican.
He's also leader of the world's millions of Catholics and will draw people from across the globe to Philly.
Then there is the economic jolt the pope will provide. As well as the cost. The confab is expected to cost $45 million, including some seriously beef-ed up security. Half of that already has been raised, according to the organizing committee.
But that's nothing when compared to the economic benefits. The weeklong event will have an economic impact in the neighborhood of $417 million, according to Jack Ferguson, CEO of the Philadelphia Convention and Visitors Bureau.
Hotels will be packed. There are 11,500 hotels rooms in the city and about 40,000 across the region, including Delaware County. It's likely they all will be booked solid. Committee members yesterday indicated they likely will be looking for "host families" to house some people who can't find rooms.
The host families were stressed by Donna Farrell, who is serving as executive director for the World Meeting of Families. She's a Delco girl, who lives in Springfield.
"Without that (the host families), we cannot accommodate all of our visitors coming from all over the world," Farrell said.
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