Papal News Roundup: August 12th

1.) Still coming up short on a place to stay while the pope is in town? Consider booking a bunk on the Battleship New Jersey, which is offering stays for $75 per person, per night to sleep in the same beds that the sailors used to use. There are 400 bunks available, and you can’t beat that price. Nor will you be able to beat the perks: guests of the battleship will get breakfast and dinner as part of their lodging price, and they will also get to experience the ship’s museum and a flight simulator. The ship will be docked in Camden, less than a mile from the Benjamin Franklin Bridge. The bridge will be closed during the papal visit, but it will be open for pedestrians.

The Battleship New Jersey could play home to as many as 400 visitors during the pope’s visit.

2.) Have you noticed the life-sized cutouts of Pope Francis appearing all over Philadelphia? You aren’t going crazy. World Meeting of Families staff have been scattering the cutouts throughout the city as a means of exciting residents and visitors in anticipation of the pope’s visit. The staff are encouraging people to take selfies with the cutouts and tag them using the hashtag #PopeinPhilly, or #WMF2015, so they can spread the word before he arrives.

3.) Speaking of WMF staff, did you know that they are mostly all volunteers? Furthermore, did you know that the screening for volunteers is super strict? The volunteers are in charge of giving directions, posting schedules, translating for visitors, ushering, and many other tasks. There are, as of right now, some 9,000 volunteers in the WMF force. Volunteers are screened for criminal pasts and other background checks, an investigation that is reportedly nothing short of rigorous.