at this hour the sprawl of independence mall in philadelphia is filling up with what is expected to be hundreds of thousands all awaiting the arrival of the pope. good day to all of you and welcome to "weekends with alex witt" and a greeting of pope francis, and moments ago the seminarians of saint charles

borromeo seminary greeted him with the latin version of "for he's a jolly good fellow." and he called on the young catholics to rely on the service and continue to care for the poor and the disabled at the cathedral basilica of saints pe peter and paul. >> i ask them, do we challenge them? do we make space for them? and help them to do their part? >> and it is that spirit of service which is embodied what may become the enduring image of the pope's visit. minutes after landing in philadelphia, pope francis stopped to bless and kiss the forehead of that young man there, 10-year-old michael keating who has cerebral palsy, and keating father's chuck is the band director for the bishop shanahan band who performed for

the pope as he arrived. and just across town, millions gathered where pope francis will speak hours from now at the world family congress, and we have lots of people to talk with and we have kasie hunt and claudio villain ga -- -- vilanga, and what are people saying there after that visit to the cathedral? >> well, people are here, and they are a little bit disappointed, because this basilica was filled with thousands of people, and they were all hoping to get a glimpse of pope francis, and not once but twice, and hoping that pope francis as he does often go to greet them and touch the hands and have a little chat with them, and now hundreds of them have been here since the early hours of the morning, and we got here at 5:00 in the morning, and

what many of them got to see is him arriving here in the little fiat, and pope francis turned, and they were all waving, and this is a little pope emoji, and he turned around and gave them a big smile, and he waved and then he went to the basilica, and now they were all waiting for him to come out from the same entrance, and then luckily for the other ones waiting on the other side of the basilica, he chose another exit. but they stood here way longer, and way after, long after the pope left, for the seminary hoping that they would catch another glimpse of him, and now they were chanting, and calling out "pope francis, pope francis" but they had figured out that he had left, but for many, they realize it is a once in a lifetime opportunity and the last pope to visit philadelphia and the basilica is pope john paul, and they know that the

next chance for him in the future is what he is doing today and tomorrow is to go to rome to see him there, and this, and neverthele nevertheless, many were very, very excited about seeing him this, and this is how some of them react ed. >> it is a unique experience. it is something that i might not believe live to see again ever. >> this is bigger than a michael jackson concert, and i never thought that i would see it, and you know, michael jackson draws a crowd, but this guy draws a real crowd. >> no wonder pope francis made the cover of "rolling stone" magazine, because to these people, he is a real catholic rock star, alex. >> i am wondering the fact that the pope was running a little bit late, and he has made up the time, you know, and he left new york probably 30 minutes behind schedule, and neighbor is why he

had to deviate somewhat and not get to the crowd. was anybody aware of that, that he was running behind and maybe that is the reason for the change in plans? >> well, the pope, himself, has to get down to some compromise, and you know, that he loves to be with the people, and if he could, he e would spend most of the time with him, and you could see it there in washington when he left for the airport, and there was and amazing scene whee he checked the watch and they said that he was late, and he said, whatever, and he went to take pictures with them, and to say hello, and when it come ts the young people, well, he sticks with them, and here, probably here, he is a very, very long and busy day, and so, you know, he had to get down to the compromise and leave earlier than he wanted to. >> and he has a 13-hour day there on parade in the public eye, and so he can be afforded a

little bit of the change of deviation to get to the seminary to take a little r&r. and thank you, claudio. and now we go the kasie hunt who is at independence mall where there is a huge crowd gathering now. and so you are thet a hall technically behind you and that is where the pope is going to be speaking first, right? >> well, alex, independence mall is a sprawling field that stands out in front of the building behind me, and we rewaiting for the premier seats to fill in, in front of the hall, but francis is anticipated here at 4:30 where he will give a speech on religious freedom and immigration where people come here as far as los angeles and the dominican republic are here to take a look at. >> the fact that he cares about people, and wanting to reform immigration and the people of the church in a way. >> and the fact that he wants to talk about immigrants and peace.

>> and we have respect for his humanity and the message of peace and his position on immigration. we wanted to be, i guess, part of the history. >> reporter: there you can hear it, and no matter where i went or who i talked to the or what language they spoke, they said fundamentally the same thing, this pope makes them feel included in something, whether it is more into their own catholic faith, whether they are of another faith or more into the country, and that is what all of the people i spoke to said that they were waiting to hear, alex. >> yes, and it is with regard to immigration, it is represented by the people performing now, and i know that there are a bunch of groups that have been lined up representing all different walks of life and culture cultures and you have a pablo bautista cultural school, and the tibetan association of philadelphia and it goes on and on and very representative of

what we expect to to see with the pope. and how long, kasie, does he expect to be there and does he get a break between the independence hall speech there and the mall then for the big, i guess closing night's events tonight? >> well, aleck, he is going to be here and give a speech which we anticipate that will be lasting for a considerable amount of time, and not the longest speech that he has given here to the united states, and don't forget that this is where the declaration of independence and the constitution was signed. he is going to be signing behind the lectern that abraham lincoln used to give to gettysburg

address. >> and joining me now is my esteemed colleague chris matthews from "hardball" and it so great to watch you for the last four hours taking us through the mass, and what message did you hear, chris that struck you most, and is there a common theme over the past few days? >> well, i think that he is doing the political hit everywhere he goes. he talked about 9/11 in new york, and went to harlem, and touched that city. and the way to get to philadelphia was with katherine drexel a woman who was born to wealth and gave it away in the interest of helping african-american, and native americans and set issing a standard which the pope pointed to this morning at the cathedral, and he wants to push up the role of the laity, but there are constraints, because the church is run by men. it is run by bishops and cardinals who are all men, and it is going to stay that way.

they are not going to be making an allowance in any regard to the that fact. the only opening in that regard might be a married priest, because we have the precedent of ainnglicans and es pass co-- episcopalians in that way, and so that is a rub. it is a rub. >> and so with the catholic church to follow in the e episcopalian church or the anglican of henry viiith to found this church to divorce his wife anne bolyn, and as far as the anglican church, the women are leaders, and what is it that you think of the catholic church, chris, that does not allow them to move forward on that front? >> well, i think that you gave me the segue as we say in journalism.

think about it this way, all politics is local. if you are a voting in the united states on suffrage, and you are a male, and only males were allowed to the vote for women to have the right to vote, you are probably married. you are married to someone who wants to vote. and that is a strong lobby, don't you think? and the men didn't have much choice, did you think? and somebody is good hearted and whatever the motive, they did agree to have women to have the vote, and you don't have that situation in the priesthood and you don't have a woman next to the guy saying, come on buddy, get your act together, and how about equality for once, a n you say it, so believe it for once, and whereas the episcopalian, you have married priests, and the wife saying to the priest or the minister in that case, hey, bud buddy, get your act together and how about the women priest, because there is no way to get to there, and you don't get to the women priest through the mar

married priests, otherwise you won't have the women in the voting booth. isn't it neat how it works. and it is very neat if you think it through. >> well, it is neat how the women have the influence which is yet to be afford 1/3 the catholic church, and who knows how to get there. and i did want to talk about those of us who can think of getting jaded in d.c. and frankly new york, and even if for a day, chris, do you think that the pope's message somehow makes us all pause and think and perhaps appreciate different aspects of life? might it have, some lingering effect? >> well, it makes me feel modestly guilty about spending too much time listening to donald trump the last two weeks. i mean, the crass behavior that is the treatment of people that weren't beautiful as he put it, and making fun of people's looks, and making fun of people who don't have a lot of money, and calling them losers, and everything that we were taught as kids growing up catholic and any other way in the country

said to don't talk about or don't brag or put down people who have not succeeded in certain ways, and don't the treat people based on the looks, and everything that we have been taught has been thrown aside in this sort of the visit from donald trump which may not last that long, but it is going on right now, and it has turned things upsidedown. >> great point. >> and the pope comes in with honesty, and he does not say things that are not true like trump does all of the time about the president being born in borneo or whatever it is, and horrible statements about the president, and getting away with it is sort of a joke, and continuing to make fun of people because they are overweight. like kris ti, and over and over again, and it is not funny and it is not a comedy show, it is the election of the president. and this vaudeville act that is coming through town has to be seen for what it is. and donald trump is a very smart man and the fact that he is doing, and the fact that it is working is disturbing, and the

fact that he can get away with it is disturbing, but the pope has sobered us up. >> and on the heels of the precipice to bring some dignity to the process. >> yes, thank you. dignity would be a good word. >> and chris, you a catholic growing up in philadelphia, and as much as you are associated with d.c., this is the hometown, and what does it mean for you to see the pope celebrating mass in your city? >> well, one thing about philly, and we have a chip on the shoulder, and i don't mind speaking for the city, because we have choked in a few sports events over the years, and that has bothered us, but we were bothered that we were once the capital city of the country, and the second largest city in the british empire and the great port city of london, and then as i pointed out, we began the country with the declaration of independence, and then thomas paine we wrote the constitution,

and the bill of rights, and we swore to public life on, and it bother us that new york and chicago and cleveland or cincinnati gets attention, and excuse me, where is philadelphia in that list? it bugs me. and so any time we get recognition, whether sit is the republicans coming to philly for the convention in 2000 and the conventions were often held in philadelphia before with the great franklin roosevelt with the great convention, and the harry truman in the middle of the night nomination in '48 had a history of big convention, and we have themack again now, and it is something that we are just proud of. but philly is a touchy town. it is touchy and we lose a football game, we don't like it. but i do have a philly's hat here somewhere, and let me are

me have the philly's hat, and this is my reaction here to the conversation, and i do wear the hat here with pride, and having rout routed for robin and the guys, and this is a city of at-tee-tude, you hear that? attitu attitude. and so he said in new york, they ask you how much money you got, and in washington, they want to know how powerful you are, and in philly, they ask, how long you been here? na says it all. >> and it does absolutely say it all. and there is no one i'd rather have it is a all for me than chris matthews. thank you for your perspective. >> you are a great colleague. >> same about you. thank you. well, for any pope, this would be a historic visit, but the papalcy of france s-- francis i

so different, and now, covering the last five popes in rome is joining me from the bbc, and i will say that i have looked at the book, and the title there, and wane to throw it back at you, and what is "the promise of francis." ? >> well, i think that he has aroused huge expectations. there is a lot of curiosity when he was elected and nobody knew about him, and he was the pope of the slums of buenos aires, and the first pope of the americas and in particular latin americ america, and we have seen him for more than two years in action, and we are getting an understanding, because he is not interested in the traditional trappings of power here in the vatican and st. peters, and the popes in the past used to travel

in a gilded carriage or carried on a sedan chair. and the pope francis uses a fiat, and sort of like the united states, and he stresses sim pl simplicity, and that is a big shock for many people who used to to a lot of pomp and circumstance from the past. no, he said. he wants a simple church, a church that respect s ts the mo values that jesus christ preached. >> hmm. >> and then david, on the e heels of the trip where so much is being made, and i mean, it could not be more sparkling, more for mall in some ways, and more adorned in the outfits that he has worn, and do you think that he is comfortable many this role as pope given such humble beginnings, and the hubris that he carries around which is one of generosity, and love and understanding and really assimilating with all? >> i think that he is very

comfortable in his own skin and it is a challenge in the late 70s to take over command of the chur church, and particularly when as he said to the people who run the central government here of the roman government, he think s that they tend to gossip too much, and they are too much worried about ecclesiastical care careerism as he calls it, building the careers, and he says that if you are a see, a member of the church, and above all, if you are the leader of the church, you are there to provide a service, and there above all to talk to poor people. after all, there are more poor people on earth than rich people. i am sure that it is going to be a huge learning process for him to visit the united states, and the first time in his life and to to see the enormous disparity between the very rich, and the poor people who he particularly concentrates on. that is i think his attraction, and now, whether he is going to

change the whole ethos of the church, a nd he is 78, and soon 80 years old, and he has already passed a new law that the disqualifies the people from the vatican from continuing in the jobs after the age of 80, and there is a lot of speculation here in rome that he might decide to pull out just as his predecessor is, and pope benedict is still there inside of the vatican living a quiet life, and nobody would be surprised if one day pope francis if he feels he does not want to continue would be very happy to hand over to the uk is ses sor. >> and it is funny that i was having a conversation with the senior vatican analyst george weigel on the broadcast the possibility if that would happen. and david, since you have been covering the popes going back to pope john paul vith, they have

the styles, but pope francis said that nobody over the age of 80 can officially work within the vatican, and do you see other examples of the leadership to differentiate himself from the predecessors? >> yes. it is the accent of looking after the periphery, and the marginalized. he set up a shower and a barbershop for the poor people who hang around in the vatican, the homeless. he thinks very large, and he also thinks very small. he has wonderful habit as you have seen during his visit to the united states of opening up to complete strangers and the poor people in the street. he is a man of the people, and he wants to communicate the christian message in the most direct way that you can think it

possible. he is not a prince of the church, although officially, he is the monarch of the head of the state, and they flew the flag outside of the vatican, and he is wants to preach simplicity and directness, and he will never give up. the other thing which i think is most amusing is that here in the vatican as i tell in my book, he lives in a sort of guesthouse. he has had a lot of talking in the past about the cafeteria catholics who pick and choose, and guess what? he eats everyday in the cafeteria. he serves himself at table. he is a man of extremely simple tastes who want ts to live like ordinary people. that is part of the charm. >> right. which makes him altogether extraordinary.

david willie, thank you so much, and good luck with the book, it is "pope francis, the challenge of the man and the time of change." thank you for your time. what do pope francis, and president obama have in common? that answer is next. hi my name is tom. i'm raph. my name is anne. i'm one of the real live attorneys you can talk to through legalzoom. don't let unanswered legal questions hold you up, because we're here, we're here, and we've got your back. legalzoom. legal help is here. when age-related macular have degeneration, amd we came up with a plan to help reduce my risk of progression. and everywhere i look... i'm reminded to stick to my plan.

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a big moment for the fai faithful as pope francis visits philadelphia. earlier he celebrated mass in well over 1,000 people at the city's main catholic cathedral and later today, he is going to be giving a speech at independence hall, and tonight to, take part in the festivities around the conclusion of the world meetings of families and to join me to discuss the pope's journeys is washington post

columnist e. jchj. dion, and ho you broadly see the pope? >> well, i agree with the last segment of everything that mr. wi wi willey said. the pope said that the church is not a garden of antiques. he said that it is not a skeptical of mo dedernity and b critical of it when you need to be, but open to it as well. and as a sort of taking off point, john 23rd is a good one, and he shares with john paul's papalcy when he was vigorous a certain charisma and appeal and

energy that you are seeing out there even from the 78-year-old man. you know, the difference is that, you know, francis is a reformer who is sending a different sort of message. and odd sentence popped into my head this morning that he preaches without being preachy. he goes to where people are, and the last thing is inspired by a hallway conversation that i had with a colleague at msnbc who is not catholic who said to her son, you know, this pope's embrace is wide and unconditional, and that is why he has real reach. not only to the catholics, and not only to the christians, bow to nonchristians, and nonbelievers. i have been hearing a lot from the nonbeliever friends over the last few days about how attractive they find francis. >> and you know, interestingly, e.j., my executive producer popped into my ear and said what

francis specifically requested when he took off from the heliport because he wanted to specifically fly over to the statue of liberty and ellis island and he wanted to speak about immigration, and how inclusion is so important to him, and you have written about politic politics and resolution, and what part of it has resonated most with americans this week, do you think? >> well, part of it is the simple compassion and get out of the chairs and do something for other people, and he says nit an inviting way. buts chris matthews says, it is more in the flying in the face of the hateful rhetoric that we have been hear ing ing in the rhetoric that we have been hearing in the past few years and months.

and in the words that he spoke at the white house, the first words were of himself as immigrants, and our country being proud of immigration country, so he has moved the n conversation there, and he has spoken over and over again, and the need to protect the planet, and explicitly talked about the climate change, and these are the two areas where he is kind of pushing the church, and particularly on the climate chan change. i think that this could have a lasting impact on our debate. and some of the more conservative catholics who share his sense of compassion, and may have some further thoughts on these issues after the pope leaves. >> what do you see as the common thread between the president obama, because when we look at the politics, if pope francis was a politicians do you believe he would be a democrat, right? >> well, i don't, and you know, i think that the last thing that we should do is to try to say that, because he is pro life, and he is talking about that a couple of times, and he has

talked about the religious lib libber the ti, and visited the little sisters of the poor, but if you quietly asked politicians here who is happiest with the message, i think it would be the democrats, and the key is that he has shifted the balance of the catholic teachings where particul particularly over the last 25 years, there is so much emphasis on the abortion and the gay marriage and the conservative positions, where he is going back to the tradition that is strong before that, and the strong social justice position, and she is giving that pride of place. those are the louder words, the more, if you will, the concrete words. so if you looked at president obama with him, he seemed like a very happy guy, and i don't think that the president would say it, because it is too sel self-serving, but francis' words do sound a lot like hope and change. >> there you have it, and i

recall that e.j.dionne, and thank you from the "washington post" and great to have you with us. >> great to be with you. >> and now, from philadelphia, we will be talk about security. join in and guess the five stops they made by tweeting #altimaweekendcontest for a chance to win your own weekend adventure! car radio: with our monday morning traffic report... you know, it's always bugged me that we couldn't say that, "cheerios are gluten free." oats don't contain gluten, but sometimes grains that do, get mixed in. so we took them out! which means now, cheerios can be enjoyed by everyone! just original cheerios? honey nut cheerios too, buzz. one of the country's biggesties financial services firms? or 13,000 financial advisors who say thank you? it's why edward jones is the big company that doesn't act that way.

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and welcome back to "weekends with alex witt." about 45 minutes or so, seminarians outside of saint charles borromeo seminary he had told people at the cathedral basilica of saints peter and paul that he delivered the mass and then he will be follow this

meeting with a family meeting at independence hall. and stephanie gosk, it is much emptier now, and people are getting in place. >> yes, more people coming through, and this is a reminder that it is the end of the week of the world meeting of families, and we have seen contingents here from all over the world, from costa rica where a group went by from nigeria, and more and more people coming through, and a lot of them have had to walk a long way to get here, but maybe it is because they know that they are getting close, but there seems to be smiles on people's faces despite that. and so far, and we have been talking to a mix of the local people, and the people from out of town, and there are not too many people upset by the level of security. and we have been talking a lot about that, and there are 21 security checkpoints around the center of philadelphia, and you have to enter them to get into the center of town. there are some 2,000 national guardsmen around as well, and

for this city, something that they don't often see on the street corners, there are some 160 bomb-sniffing dogs, and the police tell us that they are canvassing the streets every 15 minutes for bags that may be left behind, but amid all of that, there is of course, the celebration, and we will see that in people's faces, and there are families here, and lots of little kids, and lots of smiles. alex? >> including yours, and i saw you having to roll your own suitcase, and you could not get close to the hotel, and part of the crowd there, stephanie gosk. >> yes, you have to roll it. >> and that is the good line. >> literally. >> and so some of the students who are the lucky ones who got the chance of a lifetime, and what it is like for two teens who got the meet pope francis. , people stick with it. more people stick with humana medicare advantage.

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first lady michelle obama and vice president joe biden are about to join 60,000 people at new york city's central park for the global concert which is a free concert which is organized

by global citizens to end extreme poverty. and it is a star-studded event with headliners including beyonce and cold play and joining me is justine lucas who is the drirector of programs there at the global life project. and justine, let me throw some names by you, bill and linda gates all of whom were confirmed early on, and what does it mean with the addition of the first lady and the vice president to engage in this en doverday? -- in this endeavor? >> well, as you can see behind me the lines are long, and if you not left for the park, get here quickly, because it is going to be filling up, and there is extra security given the caliber of people arriving today. >> yes, a little bit of the secret service action here today

which makes for the longer line, and understandably so. in years past, the global citizen festival coincides with the general assembly meeting here in new york, and how crucial are the global meetings of world leads to eradicate extreme poverty by 2030? >> well, it is the commitment of the world heads of state, and corporation corporations, and we time it with the u.n. assembly every year so that we have them in town, aed on the give them a platform for the new commitments, and everybody here in scentral park took action wih the world leaders to make new commitments on the stage, and you will see a lot of new excitements ones today. >> xwre. and how does the global movement

work? >> well, some people are living in extreme poverty, a nd that i that some is people live on less than $1.25 per day. and that means that a child would die without a vaccination. the data demonstrates that the goal is possible, and the commitments tonight will make it progress to reach the goal. >> and we have a graphic which shows the improvements with the priority to improve sanitation, and last year the organization received more than $20 billion for projects for things like toilets, and it is not enough to build them. and can you explain how the behavioral attitudes factor into the equation? >> so any extreme poverty, there is a lot of issues involved in, that and women and girls, and global access to water and sanitation, and not just about getting the funding, but it is about channeling it towards

initiatives that engage in initiatives that build toilets, and infrastructure to support the world's poor, and the issues are complex, and the commitments that we try to get on stage, we try to achieve the maximum support to address a all of the systemic changes that include behavior change. i india is a great example. we have been working with the prime minister modi and last year he made a open declaration to end open defecation in india which is a huge commitment to take behavior change and structural change and it is complex, but it is possible. >> justine lucas, it is an incredible cause and for which you are working and i will be heading over there after i get off work, and i look forward to meeting you and thanking you for all of the work that you are doing. and for all of you, you can watch it here on msnbc at 3:00

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it is a unique experience, and it is something that i might not live to see again ever. so it is great. >> it is wone in a lifetime forever, about catholics. >> i never thought that i would be here, but when eni did get he and i saw him, i got a few goosebumps. >> these are some of of the people who gathered outside of philadelphia's basilica this morning, and joining me is father malone who is a publisher of a magazine produced by the jesuits of the united states, and bishop barroen, i would like to get your reaction to the pope's visit so far, and what is first in mind for you? >> well, it is very, very

moving. as a catholic and american to see the coming together of the two realities has been very, very moving. and i have been moved to tears a couple of times. and when the pope addressed congress certainly, and when you have thought about the long relationship of catholicism, and the pope so rapturously received and it has been very moving, but also, the pope as an icon of christ and you see him operating in the very person of jesus, and that is the fun dadamental job to the show forth the reality of christ. and so those two things stay very much in my mind. >> and i will ask the same of you, father malone, what is the expectation of the philadelphia leg of the trip? >> very much the same. he will be stressing the same themes throughout, the importance of the family, and the basic building block of our society of community. the attention to issues of economic justice, migration, and

privileging en koucounter over confrontation, and dialogue between and among catholic, and between the church and the appe he's made since. >> as you are both aware the pope will be visiting a correctional facility in philadelphia tomorrow. and during his speech before congress he reiterated his call. he wants to end the death penalty. he instead urges a focus on rehabilitation. there's a new "washington post"/abc news poll that found 67% of american catholics think it is appropriate to urge government to action on social, economic, and environmental issues. so, bishop, barron, how much do you think his messages will resonate with our politicians once he leaves for rome? you talk about his time on capitol hill moveld you so. do you think it did the same for those inside the capitol? >> i think it did. you could see it, couldn't you, in the faces of the legislators? i hope it does have a strong s

resonance. catholic social teaching deal with economic and political life. they're meant to be translated into action, into legislation. that's done through the engaged catholic worshippers. and my home is people are awakened. their consciousness is enlightened and they do take concrete steps. that's the genius of a visit like this and pope francis knows how to use gesture and public symbol to teach catholic so much teachings. i do indeed hope and think it will have a resonance. >> hope is one thing, father, but we're talking about washington. and a relative dysfunction there and you may have heard part of my conversation with my colleague chris matthews earlier and we've talked about how there's been somewhat a lack of dignity if you will particularly in pass facets of the presidential race coming up.

and do you expect politicians to embrace this? can they take a message home? do you think politics can become more cohesive, less divided as a result of a man of this stature speaking to congress? >> well, i certainly hope so. i mean, we so from our history that it's possible. for much of the postwar period in this country we had a political discourse that was civil where people worked together when they could. where they reached across the aisle when they could. and affected really great things. some of which worked and some of which haven't. but the point is that they saw in their -- they saw in their vocation to public life a duty to work for the common good. and that is what the pope reminded them of in this -- and reminded all of us in this address to congress. you know, just by virtue of his standing there at the lectern literally at the center aisle -- >> he was brilliant, wasn't he? that white. it was just such a powerful image.

>> he was testifying to a different way of approaching politics, right? >> without admonishing. did you notice that? i mean, his tenor, he's not just slapping the wrists of politicians. he just says we can do better. >> he's not afraid to admonish when it's necessary. but his -- his way of approaching public discourse is to affirm and challenge. affirm and challenge. and that's been the structure of everything he said up until now and will likely continue to be. >> all right. well, father matt malone, and bishop barron. thank you for your insights. students who met pope francis yesterday join us in just a few.

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nearly 150 seminarians you are seeing right there and a crowd of well-wishers greeted the pope when he arrived in this last hour after celebrating mass earlier this morning at the basilica of saints peter and paul. and he'll deliver a speech on freedom and immigration at a huge crowd in independence hall and later tonight he'll attend the main event the festival of families where more than a million people are turning out to greet the pope. (breaking noise) (breaking noise) (buzzing, repetitive thumping noise) nobody ever says, "made from the finest pressboard." (suitcase scraping) or, "built to last, for 3 weeks." (keyboard typing) but when things aren't made well, you find out... sooner or later. (ice cubes clattering) if something is important, it shouldn't break...

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independence mall with just a few hours to go now before pope francis' address. the subject of that speech will be religious freedom. and we are now hearing that pope francis may have sought a little historical inspiration this morning. a vatican spokesman has shared that pope francis requested and then flew over the statue of liberty and ellis island on his way to jfk airport from the wall street heliport in manhattan this morning. that speech of course will only be the opening event. as more than a million people are expected to turn out tonight for the festival of families. it will happen on the benjamin franklin parkway. pope francis will parade through that in his popemobile before taking the stage. and earlier today we saw what may become one of the most enduring images of pope francis' visit to the u.s. just minutes after landing in philadelphia, pope francis stopped to bless and kiss the forehead of 10-year-old michael keating who has cerebral palsy. keating's father is the band director for the bishop shanahan

high school band who performed for the pope as he arrived. pretty wonderful pictures there. we've got reports from the center of all of it, joining me is case casey hunt and we'll be with casey hunt where the crowd is growing by the minute now and another welcome to you a couple of hours away from the pope's speech, what's it like out there. you talk about the i guess priority seating there. hadn't been full last hour. is it filling up now? >> reporter: it is starting to fill in a little bit, but i want to show you some pictures of the way this crowd has grown over the course of the last few hours on independence mall and when the pope does take to that lectern which of course was used by abraham lincoln to give the gettysburg address he'll see a crowd of up to 50,000 people stretched out on independence mall one of the what organizers here keep reminding us is the most historic square miles in american history essentially. but by the time he gets here, he will really have had already

such a full day. you showed that very emotional moment where the pope obviously was seen waving his fiat over to the side to take the opportunity to go and bless that boy. a little personal note. i actually used to play against bishop shanahan at the high school i went to in waynesville, pennsylvania, and it was interesting to watch the pope do that with a member of the community i knew pretty well. but after he finishes his rest period he'll come over here and we're anticipating that he'll discuss religious freedom and in particular immigration here at independence hall. and i think this pope has really been a master of symbolism in the events he's held in -- in washington and then in new york and to come here and stand before at the place where the founding fathers signed our declaration of independence, our constitution and talk about that particular issue i think is something that the pope realizes is going to be pretty resonant. and you can hear some of it a

little bit behind me, the program here really music, celebrations from all over the world. we heard from people praying for hungry, the migrant crisises, heard a lot of spanish language music. there are a lot of people in the crowd who speak only spanish and whether they've come actually from another country specifically for this pope's visit or they've been living in the united states for a long time, i talked to many of them who say this is a really -- that they would do anything, wait hours and hours, just for a chance to glimpse this pope, alex. >> casey hunt, thank you so much there. we appreciate that. and, of course, security is very tight in the city center. philadelphia officials have been advising visitors to walk three to four miles perhaps from transportation hubs to try to get to their destination. and stephanie gosk is there with today's events. stephanie, what are you seeing now? even more of the crowds behind you. >> reporter: yeah, alex, the crowd has certainly been building over the course of the day. it's tough from our vantage point here to tell if it's as many people as they expected or

how big it's going to get but, you know, we certainly have been able to get a taste of whether people have been frustrated or not frustrated by the level of security here. and i would say overall the majority of people have had smiles on their faces. at least by the time they get here. now, just beyond where i'm standing is -- is the checkpoint that gets you into that inner circle and there are 21 of those checkpoints set up around the city. and people that come here will really be amazing this is a major u.s. city and the center of town has been entirely shut down. now, for people visiting and walking those streets, that's a pretty incredible thing. for people who live here, it might be another story. and we've certainly talked to some people from philadelphia who has been frustrated just by the levels of security. there have been since wednesday a lot of these streets in these areas have been shut down. children haven't been in school since then either. in this area completely taken over today by the festival of

families. and in -- i don't know, maybe the last couple of hours, we've seen some contingents from all over the world, from costa rica, from nigeria and we're seeing those lines get longer and longer behind me. alex? >> all right, stephanie gosk from the city center in philadelphia. thank you, stephanie, for that. let's turn to claudio who is outside the st. peters basilica, the reaction was mixed and while everyone was happy to see the pope, claudio, there was a change of plans, right, that left a couple people disappointed? >> reporter: well, a little bit, alex, of course, they were all very happy that the pope showed up and they saw him from a distance, a bit more distant than they thought they would see him from. there were two fences separating the two. he stopped on the steps of the basilica to turn and wave and everybody was excited and ecstatic about it, of course, but they were expecting him to come out from the same door and in the hope they would catch a glimpse or maybe a picture or

selfie with him as many others have done with him as he exited from another door and was kind of rushed to the seminary. of course, it was a bit later. the party continues where right behind me there in the distance is benjamin franklin parkway where the festival of continues and the pope will be back in the area around 6:00 p.m. and he's going to tour the area in popemobile and there will be hundreds of thousands of people, up to a million, and there will be a big party, a big performance, and in that performance there will be the famous italian tenor bocelli and aretha franklin who is expected to sing "amazing grace" and how amazing is that going to be, alex? >> that will be fantastic, i know you will be sticking around for that one despite your early morning call today. >> reporter: right here, front row. >> i'm sure you are not leaving the post. joining me is michael pepper associate of theology in fordham university here in new york.

in his homily the pope touched on the fact that he wants to bring the young catholics back into the church and get their enthusiasm going again. i'm curious about your students at fordham university, how they have viewed the pope's trim and what do you want them to take away from this? >> it's a great question. in the homily today i saw him focusing on two different groups the nuns and the nuns, nuns, n-u-n-s but also the nones, the n-o-n-e-s, those who are unaffiliated who left the church or never felt welcomed in church at all. what's been amazing by this pope every time so far he's talked about family life and emphasized the young and where family life might have indicated he was going to go a different direction about marriage, for example, which i think he will do later today and tomorrow, so far it's been about bringing in the young. and what the young i think are brought in by, at least what i see in my students is, well, let's think about teenager.

they have a radar about hypocrisy and they will reject anyone who has a whiff of hypocrisy and let's be honest big institutions often have some hypocritical elements, whatever they are. so, what this pope has brought is someone who talks the talk and walks the walk and he prefers to walk it first and talk about it later, so that it's kind of a spark of evangelism that is just even enough maybe to bring people in the door and listen again. >> leading by example is really what he does. so, fordham is a jesuit university and this is our first jesuit pope. talk about the jesuit principles that differentiate it i guess from the mainstream of catholicism and how that's been in evidence this week. >> happy to do that. >> how long do you have, professor? >> that's right. that's right. teach a whole course on this. let's do it right now. let's start with one of the first principles which is finding god in all things. finding god in all things. this goes back to the ignatius

loyola, the founder of fordham. and what's amazing about the homily at madison square garden is how this principle wasex exemplified in the urban theology, through the smog of the city we breathe the fresh air and when we see people on the street who are in need whether they are the undocumented or the uncared for or the elderly, the infirm, that those people we ought to see jesus in them and bring them in to the life of the church. and so that jesuit principle of finding god in all things, even in the nitty-gritty and -- remember, he's above penn station saying this. >> yes. talk about nitty-gritty. >> even in the nitty-gritty of life to find god in all things. >> that's a wonderful explanation. you wrapped that up very quickly. with regard to your takeaway for this week what has surprised you if anything, or something that will be most profound in your memory of the last couple days in new york? >> there's been a lot. i think i'll grab on to one, which is how much he's talked about great american catholic

women. it's been amazing. every opportunity that he's had, basically, whether it's at the vespers service to praise american nuns who have not had a good run, let's say, with vatican pressure in the last couple years or in the homily to talk about st. elizabeth ann seton founder of the first catholic girls school in the ucks or in the homily this morning to lift up katharine drexel when there's so many other great -- great holy men and women in philadelphia that could be picked out to pick out that one and someone who reached out to native americans and reached out to african-americans and who gave up a huge inheritance st. katharine drexel he goes straight to the heart of that woman, st. katharine drexel. >> you make a good point there as i'm sure you do with your students, thank you so much, michael pepper. >> happy to be here. changing the world in 140

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well, here's a sight you don't see every day for any number of reasons. what you're seeing is video just in to us here at msnbc of the pope inside the american airlines cockpit that ferried him from jfk to philadelphia about, oh, four or five hours ago now. what's so unique about this is that you're seeing the pope in a cockpit, but also since you think about it since 9/11 nobody has been allowed inside a commercial aircraft, though, despite american airlines doing the shuttling between the two

cities. this was definitely a private aircraft designated for the pope's use so he can break that one rule there. but, again, the pope enjoying things. we're also told that during his helicopter ride from the tip of manhattan at the wall street heliport to jfk he really wanted to see and be flown over the statue of liberty and ellis island, so that quick tour was given to him before he boarded this plane at jfk and made that safe landing so pretty fun pictures there to see. at virtually every stop this pope has been greeted by huge crowds and a sea of camera phones and the trip comes as the vatican tries to find new ways in this age of smartphones and social media to bring the pope's message to the masses. let's bring in michael onassus and he's the author of "the tweetable pope, a spiritual revolution in 140 characters." welcome to you. good to meet you. thanks for joining me, michael. >> great to be here. >> let's talk about the scores

of well-wishers. they're lined up with their phones. they've got their cameras in hands and as the pope moves through the streets of new york and philadelphia, how has the pope used the tools of the millennial generation to spread the teachings of the church? >> yeah, that's right. everyone wants a picture with this pope. i just saw a photo of priests celebrating a mass with him snapping pictures during the consecration. everyone wants a picture. and the vatican has taken to social media to get the message out. the vatican had people benedict join twitter a couple years ago and they were figuring it out. but since pope francis has taken over, they've expanded to 23 million followers and in 9 languages and by one estimation pope francis is the most influential tweeter among global leaders because while he doesn't have the most number of followers, people engage with his tweets at such a high rate. they retweet them, they talk about them. this is a whole new way for a pope to get a message out and people have really taken to it quite well.

>> it is extraordinary the way he does it. 140 characters and he does them in the singular text and not the run-on ones and we don't think of twitter for deep philosophical thought, but you say it helped define the tone of his papacy, so i'm going to read one i pulled out of your book very simply. sometimes it is possible to live without knowing our neighbors. this is not christian. it's a very simple and brief concept and yet very powerful. >> it's true. and i think -- i think that's a skill, you know, to be able to write something in fewer than 140 characters that people will remember and respond to and think about. that's not easy, so i think his critics who kind of say it's not dignified to have a pope on twitter, maybe, they don't get it, they don't get it's the way people communicate now and how we think. in the book i write that some of jesus' most memorable sermons, some of the lines from them are well under 140 characters and i say if twitter is good enough for jesus, it's good enough for

pope francis. >> no facebook, though, and that's noticeable. is it because of the whole friending thing and you're expected to responding to people at least and some people can get rather crass if you don't? >> that's right. the vatican says no facebook yet, they're looking in to it. that's right, they wanted to be able to meet people on social media but facebook they said was a bit too much of a two-way conversation at this point for pope francis so they're sticking to twitter. people reply. the pope hasn't responded yet but they say he's open to the idea. >> okay. we'll see develops there. interesting the pope has been relatively quiet on twitter during the u.s. leg of the trip. the last tweet was tuesday when he departed cuba, what do you make of that? >> it looks like the formula at this point is he tweets when he's departing for a trip and then he tweets when he's leaving that country. i'm sure we'll see one tomorrow thanking the people of the united states for this really warm enthusiastic reception in every city he's visited. >> yeah, but michael, my question to you do you think the pope is the one that actually

takes a phone and does it, or do uf think he tells one of his assistants to do it? it sounds like it's in his voice. so, certainly it's his brainchild, but this is a guy that says he doesn't watch tv and he's not particularly tuned in to technology himself as an individual. >> yeah, you know, i thought he was going to be like other celebrities or big names who kind of farm out the whole operation to a pr team. but he's not. well, he's not typing out the whes message on the phone, he's coming up with the idea of the themes and he has a small group of people that go back into his sermons and speeches and pull out the most tweetable lines and he approves each one. so i think this is a fairly authentic engagement with a world leader, much more so than you're going to get from following the president of the united states, for example. >> okay. it's a very interesting development in the papacy if you well. michael, thank you so much. good luck with the book. thanks. >> thank you. it was an unforgettable moment for two youngsters who met pope francis and we'll meet them.

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well, two new york high school seniors will be the talk of their classes on monday after meeting the pope this week. i'm joined here in studio now aboby some students that were selected for their academics and spirituality. what an honor. i see the smiles on your faces that reflect what happened to you yesterday. let's talk about you, daniel, first and your face-to-face meeting with the pope. you called it life changing. tell me about that experience. >> yes. it really was life changing. i got to meet and shake the hand of pope francis. and, you know, when you shake somebody's hand you think it's just shake someone's hand and greeting him. but i felt like an air of humbleness and as soon as i shook his hand and i still have that peace with me right now. >> really? people talk about if you've been in a room with someone really

impressive how all the focus goes to that person and you felt that way with this pope? >> yes, most definitely. pope francis has this humbling effect to him. he has an air of humbleness and when he approaches people he doesn't even act like a big deal. he acts as if he's like every other person which makes him so much cooler. >> yeah, i bet. i'm so glad you had that experience. what a neat thing to carry around. i know you made a deeply personal request to the pope when you were able to meet with him. >> yeah. >> can you share that with us? >> i showed the pope a picture of my father who was terminally ill and i was overcome with emotion at that point and i asked if he would say a prayer for him. he picked up the picture, he was really, like, there in the conversation. he wasn't thinking about anyone else other than who he was speaking to at that time. he blessed the picture, he asked my father's name which was amazing -- >> amazing. >> -- and he said he would pray for him which was really cool. >> i'm sure the tears were flowing after that.

>> i didn't think i was going to cry because i don't like to get emotional in public. it was so awesome. >> i'm sure everyone around would understand. daniel, interesting, your parents were born in ghana, you are a child of immigrants. and i understand your meeting of this pope sort of came full circle for your family. talk about that. >> when my mom was much younger in gawnhana, pope john paul ii visited ghana and my mom couldn't get to see him because there was such a big crowd and she thought that was going to be the end of the pope's history with my family and so for me to be able to meet the pope and shake his hand and thank him for all that he's done, my mom was able to vicarious live through me. >> i'll bet. i've seen both of your mothers here with you and i know they are both incredibly proud of you. there's a glow with your mothers as well, they're smiling from ear to ear. but your mother in particular, kara, when you told your mom here's what happened with the pope and the exchange about your dad. what was that like?

>> she was just so emotional and she was so happy and so proud and really thankful that we got this opportunity because to have the pope pray for you in a time like this is something so rare and to have god kind of shine down on our family like this is such a hard time it's really amazing. >> how are you gueys going to g back to school and talk about this? how about you, daniel? >> i'll walk with my chest pumped out, and i don't know what will happen, but i'm sure my friends will swarm me. >> there will be a lot of talking on monday. how about you? >> definitely the same thing. i call it the pope fame. it's really awesome. everyone wants to know. i don't know what i'll say. but i know this hand shook pope francis' hand which was really awesome. >> i'm the students in your schools will be happy to welcome you back and ask you all about it. thank you for telling us all about it. >> thank you. up next traveling with the pope. nbc's anne thompson was on the

plane with the pontiff when he arrived in philadelphia. and we'll learn what it's like to be on the road with pope francis. ♪ ♪ ♪ (vo) making the most out of every mile. that's why i got a subaru impreza. love. it's what makes a subaru,

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good afternoon, what you are seeing are performances there ahead of the world meeting of families which will be held there in philadelphia this evening where over a million people are expted to attend but they've tried to stress the immigrant makeup of this country and to do so they're having all sorts of performers, a tango school and the tibetan association of philadelphia and the fan dancers of the rowan university and beyond and they are bringing cultural diversity to everyone in attend there and the pope will be getting there two hours or so from now. let's turn now to women in the catholic church, pope francis highlighting the work of nuns in philadelphia and throughout his journey this week

and he had this to say at st. patrick's cathedral on thursday. >> to you religious women, sisters and mothers, i wish to say thank you. >> well, joining me the associate professor of religious studies at manhattan college. awfully glad to have you here to talk about this. he's been discussing pope francis has been doing the discussing of human life in his address. he did that in congress earlier this week. let's have a listen to part of what he said. here's that -- >> also reminds us ?

>> so that rousing applause there, but as you're well aware we know that catholic teaching doesn't exact square with what is legal here in the united states. particularly when it comes to abortion and reproductive rights. so, what was your reaction to what pope francis said there? >> i think it was really interesting especially that you cut the feed there because the next line that he said, which was the real remarkable moment for me, was this is why i'm calling for the abolition of the death penalty. so, i think in this country sometimes we get a little bit wrapped up in one aspect of life and that might be a consequence of the culture wars that have sort of built up in this country around religious issues, but, in fact, pope francis is breaking beyond that mold. he doesn't really want to talk only about abortion and reproductive rights. when he talks about life, he doesn't talk about innocent life, he talks about all life at all stages. so, for him i think the death penalty, poverty, immigration, those are life issues. racism, life issue.

>> yeah. he mentioned dorothy day during his address to congress and this morning he talked about st. katharine drexel. two of the most famous american catholic women there. what role do women play today in serving modern catholicism? >> women do everything, almost, with the exception of sacramental ministry which is consecrations, weddings, things like that, but pretty much everyone else. there are women parish administrators. there are obviously women involved in the liturgy not that you would guess that from the liturgy at madison square garden or indeed many of the other liturgies. there are women -- women have consistently, hispanic women, black women, been in charge of catechisms for children in the home, outside the home. frequently when this country has not been very friendly to catholics and other countries as well, women have been the ones who have protected the faith and passed on the faith. >> certainly that has been an evolution within the church. do you think it will ever

potentially evolve to the point where, as i was discussing with my colleague chris matthews earlier today, much like the anglican church, episcopalian in the united states, women are recolle rectors, they serve the equivalent of a preach in their church. >> the issue of the married priesthood and the issue of opening up the priesthood beyond making a life-long vow of celibacy. let's not forget how the church has evolved, i have a ph.d. in theology. >> i didn't introduce you as doctor, i should considering your earned it. a question for you on a different topic. pope francis touched on the immigration issue when it came to his address on thursday. visited the children's school in east harlem in new york city, a larger latino neighborhood in the upper portions of manhattan for those that aren't familiar. there was a recent poll i want

to show the numbers here 49% of latino catholics hold a positive view of pope francis. what part of his message do you think resonated with catholic latinos most this week? >> i think his message of being a child of immigrants and being an american. you heard him say in congress a number of times, i come as an american. he is part of america because he's trying to resituate our context. not just in -- as understandening the u.s. as america but as the u.s. as part of something that begins in alaska and ends in chile, so we are part of this sort of broader context of which he is a product and of which many of the people who are in this nation or built this nation are also products so they see themselves in him. and i cannot tell you as a hispanic woman myself how pleasant it is to hear a spanish-speaking pope speaking spanish. it's really very beautiful. latin american spanish, argentinean spanish that's reflected in a particular way. catholicism is a global church

and for the first time we have a pope that is from somewhere outside of europe and that's really something that i don't know that i have words for it's so amazing. >> i have to say it's awfully charming to listen to him speak with his latin accent, shall we say, his spanish accent in english. >> all of us have family that sound like that, so it warms him up even more if that's possible. >> all right, doctor, thank you so much. >> thank you, alex. up next, to politics, and john boehner's good-bye. what's next for both political parties now that the house speaker is stepping down.

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the way to whiten. we value sticking with things. when something works, people stick with it. more people stick with humana medicare advantage. because we stick with them. humana medicare advantage. the plan people stick with. at 40 past let's go to politics now where today house republicans are strategizing how to fill the power vacuum left by yesterday's surprise announcement, speaker boehner is stepping down not at the end of his term, at the end of next month. >> listen, it was never about the vote, all right? there was never any doubt about whether i could survive a vote. i don't want my members to have

to go through this. i certainly don't want the institution to go through this. and so, especially when, you know, i knew i was -- i was thinking about walking out the door anyway. so, it's the right time to do it and, frankly, i am entirely comfortable doing it. >> well, joining me now is political analyst alina maxwell and susan del percio. we heard the speaker kind of reasoning there and "the washington post" edtorial board is taking a slightly different look at this and the quote there, mr. boehner's resignation is a political cop-out. that's the headline there. they say he didn't have the courage to challenge the party orthodoxy and make some real compromises. do you think this is really about protecting the institution? >> i think he's fed up. we've seen this particular fight happen over and over and over again. we saw the debt limit fight and the fiscal cliff fight and we're back again to shut down the government which is defunding

planned parenthood and it's directing essentially the rest of the party including the leadership. you know, the pope came to d.c. after 20 years of trying and he is, like, i'm done. i'm fed up with this. but also i think it -- it just allows him to step away from this. the conservatives now will get their choice, kevin mccarthy as the new speaker and they're going to be able to vote on things that they've wanted all along. i think they've been fed up with him since the beginning. >> you said the pope. we know you meant house speaker boehner. and mccarthy that has yet to be confirmed but is the likely ascension there. susan, i'm curious what you think this means with the possibility of a government shutdown over planned parenthood funding, would it happen? >> i don't think you'll see it happen now and i think that's why boehner chose this timetable instead of letting it go. we all knew he was going to step down. what was surprising he chose to step down yesterday. so, by doing this they're going to get a spending bill through. it will take them probably through december.

but in actuality this will avoid the government shutdown that people were talking about. this actually is very, very helpful to the republicans looking towards 2016 and taking the white house back. yes, kevin mccarthy is thought to be the leading contender to take boehner's spot. but it's also important to look that he comes out of leadership, so i think people are frustrated with john boehner, but at the same time they should be -- the party needs to take a harder look at itself. representative peter king said -- made a great comment yesterday. he said this was a victory for crazies. the party cannot let the crazies win we need to keep some kind of way of building consensus to get things done. >> so, kevin mccarthy, susan makes the point he comes out of leadership, would his ascension make any difference? would he be much different than what boehner offered? >> what boehner did that they didn't like he compromised to get deals done with the president to get things done and increase the debt ceiling. we have another debt limit fight coming before christmas and i

think the house republicans under kevin mccarthy's leadership decide we're not going to raise the debt ceiling over a pet project like defunding planned parenthood or some other issue that they put forward i think we'll be in real trouble. you have donald trump in first place and that is for a reason. the base of the party is very unhappy with their leadership and they have been for the past six years because they're very extreme. you had the extremists sort of dictating what the party is doing. i think it's almost like a republican game of survivor, like who is going to win out in some ways. i just think that that -- i don't know that i agree with susan that it will help them win the presidency. i think this is actually proof that the extremists have a lot of power and sway over the party. >> again, going to kevin mccarthy, i disagree with what you were saying, he is well liked. he has been known for building relationships. boehner in the last several years has gotten a lot of blame for not going to the conference enough, for building up enough

relationships. so mccarthy's been doing this. i think it will be most likely that he'll have better relationships to get through the tough times to build some consensus and also perhaps keep the right of the right at bay. and he will be very successful at that if he's named leader. >> okay, susan, one quick question before i let you go. who do you think drops out next on the heels of scott walker this week? >> i think we're probably looking at governor jindal is most likely to drop out next, he's a sitting governor and still having a future ahead of him. >> there you have it. ladies, thank you so much as always. the 2016 olympim olympics a ten months away, but this week athletes from around the globe gathered in san francisco and participated in the team visa summit exercising their technology muscles and preparing to go on the road to rio. team usa women's soccer goalie carly lloyd came out of the net and took some shots on ash

neaten and she scored as you saw there. coming off the world cup win in the summer lloyd had this to say about the 2016 games. >> it's going to take a lot of work and we're going to have to ral raise our level from the world cup. >> well, lloyd joins san francisco mayor ed lee in a ceremony to declare wednesday team visa day in the city. visa incidentally is a sponsor of the summer olympics in 2016. coming up, the parents of a boy blessed by the pope today talk about what his blessing means to his family. hi my name is tom.

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gave michael a blessing and he gave him a kiss on the forehead. >> and i said thank you to him and that's when he grabbed my hand and chucks hand. and then blessed him again. >> it just -- one of the greatest days of my life. >> well, those are the parents of 10-year-old michael keating

who has cerebral palsy, after landing in philadelphia pope francis stopped to bless and kiss the forehead of that young boy had his father chuck from whom you heard there he is the band director for the bishop shanahan high school band which performed for the pope as he arrived. as you can hear from the parents that action right there has changed their lives. at almost every stop pope francis has pulled in enormous crowds, some have flown in from across the world. some have been desperately trying to get a glimpse of the pontiff and take part of this historic event. >> it's a unique experience. it's something that i might not live to see ever so i think it's great. >> this is bigger than a michael jackson concert. i never thought i would see it and, you know, michael jackson draws a crowd, but this guy draws a real crowd, man. >> he represent christ and peace on earth. >> well, on the phone with me right now is nbc's anne thompson who was aboard the plane to

philadelphia. i know you were one of a group of journalists that were there. we are looking at the video of the pope up there in the cockpit which is an unusual sight during his travels from new york to philadelphia. but what can you tell us about the trip? >> it was very short, alex. it was about a 20-minute flight. and we were up and down. and then he was off to a very, very busy day. he said mass at the cathedral here in philadelphia. he then went to a local seminary where he led the seminarians in singing happy birthday to the archbishop of philadelphia. he's now resting before he comes here to independence hall, where i am, to give a speech that will cover two topics, religious liberty and immigration. but i think those pictures that you saw of the pope, he actually got into his fiat and then got out of his fiat to -- when he realized that he had not met or blessed michael keating.

and he went over to him and blessed him and his mother just burst into tears. >> yeah. >> it was an incredibly emotional moment. we saw more emotional moments like that at the cathedral after mass where he blessed some sick children who were there. and those are the kind of moments that really make pope francis' trip. those are the moments that you remember as much as the words that he will say in a speech like the one he's about to give this afternoon, it is those gestures that make in many ways an even bigger statement, the statement about the passion, the statement about mercy and a statement about inclusion. >> well, i know given the brevity of the trip he wasn't able to make a trip back to where all the journalists were sitting. but, anne, he has done that on occasion, right? >> he has done that. every time when we fly back -- when we fly back sunday night to rome, it is expected that he

will come back and talk to us. he's come back and talked to us when we flew from havana to washington. he took questions. and when expect that he will again take more questions when we head back. and it will be interesting. i'm fascinated to see what he thinks of the united states. this is his first trip here. >> yeah. >> he has not had that experience. and i will tell you that you saw the mass at madison square garden last evening. and then the extended standing ovation he got at that mass. just based on that applause he could have flown to philadelphia all by himself. it was really an extraordinary outpouring from the 20,000 people who attended that mass. >> something we expect to be echoed again by the million or so plus later on today. anne thompson as always, many thanks. good to talk to you, my friend. i want to bring back two guests who have been with me all day for a recap of pope francis' first day in philadelphia.

elizabeth lev, and also joining me george weigel senior vatican analyst for nbc news. i want to appeal to you as a fellow mom. when you look at the pictures of the pope blessing these children and anne's description of that mother bursting into tears, this is really where this pope makes a difference. his personal touch. >> i'm not only a mom, i'm a mom of a child with down syndrome, so when he goes after those children that are such a joy to us, but to the world they sometimes seem more challenging. they seem to be something that they don't want to look at. down syndrome children have an extraordinarily high rate of being aborted and to find these children who are usually left in the periphery as -- as -- as francis is fond of saying and seeing him going to look for them, i understand the parents. i understand that huge man with that tiny fragile child breaking down into tears because someone understands him and his choice and his love for his child. so finally to have the pope see

our children with our eyes is an exceptionally beautiful moment. >> it is quite unique, i think, to this pope, his able to touch people in a way that we all feel it. it will bring all of us to tears watching. >> i think all -- i must say, benedict xvi and john paul ii and all the popes of my lifetime have always had a tremendous outreach to the sick and the disabled. i think what francis does is he brings such a bright light to it it's really extraordinary. >> and, george, your thoughts as you wrap up this day. there's certainly a lot to come tonight, but what is your biggest takeaway and what is your hope for catholics in america? >> i think the pope at independence hall this afternoon is going to lay down the fourth large marker on religious freedom during this trip. he stressed this in his address to congress. he went to visit the little sisters of the boor who are presently suing the obama administration so they can continue to be themselves. he stressed this at the united

nations and he's really going to underscore it at independence hall. that's not an abstract point. when the pope defends the right of religious freedom, not simply as the right to go to the church you want to go to on sunday or the mosque you want to go to on friday or the synagogue you want to go to on sunday, but religious institutions to be themselves, he's talking about the capacity to reach out to those special needs kids, to reach out to elderly people, to take care of the homeless. to feed the hungry. to do all of the things that bring the compassion and mercy of christ and the church into human lives. so, this is a very concrete, specific, gut-level issue for him. and he -- those who say he's not a culture warrior, he's ready to go to war on behalf of religious freedom in full. >> yeah, i think he's a very profound and bold person in so

many ways despite your descriptions that he's got a timid, innate personality. george, elizabeth, thank you so much. that's a wrap of my time with you. straight ahead the fourth annual global citizens festival from new york. discover card hey! so i'm looking at my bill and my fico credit score's on here. yeah! we give you your fico credit score. for free! awesomesauce! the only person i know that says that is... lisa? julie? we've already given more than 175 million free fico credit scores to our cardmembers. apply today at discover.com

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