Plans Continue as Pope’s Visit Draws Nearer

Pope Francis’ visit to the United States is now less than five months away. As the papal visit draws nearer, the planning for the pontiff’s arrival are being kicked into high gear.

The pope’s visit in September has ignited excitement and busy planning in the greater Philadelphia area. (Flickr:Aleteia Image Department)

It’s been announced that the pope will stay at the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Lower Merion when he visits. It is customary for the pope to stay with an area’s archbishop when he visits, and Philadelphia’s Archbishop Charles Chaput stays with the seminary students there. After all, it would be unusual for the pope, who has renounced worldly goods and taken vows to live a simple life, to stay in a five-star hotel. Still, it’s expected that the pope will be very comfortable at the seminary. Although Chaput will be officially hosting the pope he says that the seminarians are very excited to have the Holy Father staying with them as well, and Chaput believes that the pope will mingle freely with the students.

Meanwhile, the home rental market is booming in anticipation of the papal visit. With hotel rooms within a two hour drive booked solid, the only option left for folks coming into town is to rent out a private home or vacation home. Knowing this, many homeowners are spiking the prices accordingly. Reports say that Craigslist is flooded with home rental listings mentioning Pope Francis, many of which are going for thousands of dollars for the week. Miscellaneous local news outlets have run interviews with some of these homeowners, who claim that they are only following suit and demanding the going rate for their rentals.