Cousin Georgeanne And The St John XXIII Parish of Tamaqua Visited With The Pope

Philadelphia City Hall and the Tamaqua group. Cousin Georgeanne is in red.
 Above the right hand corner of the sign. If someone sends me a
list of the names I will put them here. 

They saw the Pope and took this picture. He is the one in the white.

Here is the program.

Heroes the bus leaving Tamaqua at 6:30 AM - 90 miles north of the city.

by Georgeanne Knowles

When our Parish decided to get a bus to see Pope Francis - I was signed on right away. I thought this is a once in a lifetime experience that I would have loved to take with my Dad  who was so strong in his faith that his last words on earth were "I want to be with My Lord" and so I hope you were watching from a seat in Heaven next to him as I made my pilgrimage Dad.

The experience was a lifetime of the most humble and peaceful memories I think I will ever have.  We boarded the bus at 6:30 and had no traffic to deal with until we hit the Phillies stadium where the busses kept coming from all over the country. I saw plates from Texas, Florida and Arkansas to name a few. We were lucky enough to have SEPTA passes and headed to the train for the ride in.We ended up walking nearly 4 1/2 miles till we got through the security checkpoint and ended up across from the Museum of Natural History near the Cathedral where the Pope had said Mass the day before. It was jammed and we finally settled down in a nice cozy spot with about 2-3 million other people waiting to see our Holy Father. The 3 hour wait was worth it as this Holy Man made his way in the Popemobile towards us. My heart skipped a beat knowing I was in his presence and tears came to my eyes thinking of my Dad and how proud of this moment he would be. All too fast Pope Francis was gone. We started to watch the jumbotron as he began Mass. Parts of the Mass were in Spanish (Pope's language), Vietnamese and English. It was beautiful as we sang the refrains and came together as one voice. At Communion we each had the opportunity to receiver the Holy Eucherest    and once again we were all one family united by this man of such peace and holiness. All to soon we were on the hike back and finally home. 

I thought of my Dad so many times that day and said a prayer saying this one was for you Dad. Peace be with you.