the holy father has been here. this is a gathering of humanity and respect for humanity. >> pittsburgh welcoming him here. >> i wonder if pope francis was able to see the argentine flag along the benjamin franklin parkway. of course international flags line that. >> it is amazing from the screen we're seeing now how people are headed south, just the movement, the volume of people moving away from the parkway. i'm actually surprised by that. i think that's still within the secure area. >> middle of your screen there on the left. >> yes. i believe that would be about 22nd street, 21st street. you can see 676 completely closed off. closetory the bottom of the screen, how that street, not much movement there.

people just staying. and i bet people are thinking, maybe we'll see him one more time. the 76 obviously closed in both directions. see that at the top of your screen. will . >> announcer: you're watching nbc 10's coverage of the pope in philadelphia. welcome back. once again, you're watching live coverage to the pope's visit to philadelphia here on nbc 10. a live look at the ben franklin parkway packed with people where

the main event has been under way for several hours now. pope francis has just wrapped up that public mass where hundreds of thousands of people gathered from across the world. now it is time for the exodus from center city for those hundreds of thousands of people. and we're joined once again by father kevin gallagher from st. van ist. st. venice. thanks for your insights today. >> you're welcome. >> it was beautiful to hear him again the sentiments echoed over the past few days stressing the family. of course he's here for the world meeting of families and it's all about the bond and stlejenning of the units within your family. >> that's right. i think that's a sir fair summary of all of those tauzs. if the family is strong, society is strong. if the family is weaknd, society is weakened. i think if we were to summarize all the different spperspective he gave from the corner store to the super market, the indifference, he truly gave many, many lessons over these past hours. >> and they were messages really

throughout this visit that we expected to hear from him on those main touchtone issue that's are important to him, including family, including immigration, including the environment, including the poor. >> right. and certainly he's touched on everything, not in any poignant way where it was, oh, he said that, but it was very much in subtle but real ways that he was able to bring his message very clearly and very simply. there's -- his language is not complex. it's real. it's heart to heart. >> and we knew that during this meeting at some point he would meet with victims of sexual abuse. we just didn't know exactly when that would take place. we found out that took place this morning and then he spoke about it immediately after meeting with them. >> he did. the opening remarks at the seminary were obviously having some of the events words that he was going to prepare, i knew immediately with terry this

morning that he was -- i could pick up some of the language that he had obviously taken the time to meet, and i believe it was five individuals of clergy sexual abuse, family abuse, and also teacher abuse which i think would be typical of pope francis, clergy abuse is real but also family abuse, again focusing on the family was the bigger issue today. >> a couple of our colleagues had front row seats for all of us. nbc 10's denise na taco and chris cato were on the parkway. now they get to watch those people make their way home, wherever they're going. >> reporter: an historic open-air mass. we have people now starting to file out. they waited of course until the pontiff left. but what a connection we all felt here on the parkway. a mile stretch from city hall to the art museum area where we felt that we were like a family among strangers, where there's a connection with a message and with the pontiff talking so much

about family and the importance. >> reporter: in this setting denise, it's so remarkable. it seems to remarkable, fitting that philadelphia such a vibrant city that has a place in the american history today took its place in world history, as pope francis concluded his first u.s. visit by addressing 860,000 is the estimated crowd here on the ben franklin parkway. >> it was interesting to hear, take the time to look inside your own family and to ask other do you talk with tenderness and love? and the importance of that. to actually be there and be there for each other and examine your own lives. >> yes. father gallagher touched on he brought it back to the family of course. obviously this is the conclusion of the eighth world meeting of families. the family has been at the center of every message, but he talked about, do you do the little things in your own home, that expressions of gratitude, are you teaching your children that way? and let's take those examples

out into the world, out into our communities to make our community better. he also talked about, as jim touched on there, reaching out to people of all religions and said that anyone who wants to bring into this world a family that teaches children to overcome evil, whatever religion you belong to, we welcome that. he was not only speaking to the faithful, the catholic faithful here, he knew he was speaking to the world. >> reporter: and also the legacy we leave behind for our children, how important that is. not only in this setting of your home structure of your family, but what are you teaching your children and what are you going to leaving behind? folks here in the art museum area, akins oval, they are slowly starting to make their way. there seems to be no rush. it's very calm out here. for much of the time out here it was just stillness and a lot of listening and a lot of people standing on their feet. and i felt that was probably like what it was like, the emotion and just the sense of

connectedness, along the parkway. and we do have nbc 10's lauren make who is down with the crowd at city hall. lauren whashgs is it like there? >> reporter: chris and denise, you certainly did not have to be on the parkway to be part of this here today. just take a look behind me. folks are clearing out now, but this has been just a sea of people. where we are right now is on jfk between 15th and broad street, right in front of city hall. and this was just block after block of people standing together watching this mass. and now as we sort of swing around, let me show you what is actually happening out here right now. we have sort of an impromptu concert and celebration happening out here right now with -- i'm not sure whether all of these folks know each other. it looks like they might not. they're just joining in to be all part of this here together. that's part of what this is about. it was about the mass, but it's also about things like this.

it's also about these moments they are not going to forget. i was able to talk to some of the folks who made the trip in for the mass today to hear what it meant to them. >> well, i think we're definitely going to take especially the father's message home with us to our family and kind of apply a lot of the things that he talked about, you know. he asked in the homily, do we shout or do we talk to each other with love? and i think just spreading love in our family and then hopefully our children will take that out into the world. the message of love is so important, and i think that if everyone here, the millions of people, can just remember that daily, it will really change the face of the united states and hopefully the world. >> reporter: and that is what's going to be happening now. now folks are heading home. folks are packing up their stuff. they're getting their families together. they're going on to wherever they came here from. but they are going to be taking back with them both the memories

and also the message that they learned here this weekend in philadelphia. live in center city, i'm lauren make, nbc 10 news. >> reporter: lauren, thanks. a monumental and historic under taking by the city of philadelphia, by the world meeting of families to bring this together. three years of planning, especially the past year has been intense. the past six months have been intense. and now we're taking a view here of the airport, atlantic aviation, on the end of philadelphia international airport where the pope is heading to now. and he will say a few words to -- words of thanks to the world meeting of family organizers. then he will also meet with dignitaries including vice president joe biden. we're watching his motorcade now as we await to see the pope. but he'll have a few final words there for the people who welcomed him to the city of brotherly love. and it's fitting i think also, archbishop as he had some final

words here on stage, he told the crowd that this is a day that philadelphia will never forget and that none of us will ever forget. and he thanked the holy father and everyone here applauded. that was the loudest applause of the day here in a solemn service. there was loud applause when he thanked will holy father for his strength and his message that he brought here to the city of philadelphia. >> reporter: yeah. and as we watch the pontiff on the ben frankly parkway and see all the people who came here and were not disappointed because they got to see him in person, that they waited to as long, and then to hear his homily and hear his voice and to be in front of the jumbotrons and to be in this experience of connecting with other people that they may not know. but this is his last and his final public appearance here in the u.s. a tour that spanned six days and we often -- >> reporter: we covered it all. >> reporter: -- are surprised at the energy he has. yesterday he spoke several times. how can he have the energy to do this so many times?

but again, here out on aikens oval experiencing this firsthand, it was wonderful. pretty magical. >> reporter: it's not over yet entirely. we know he has a few more words to say to people there at atlantic aviation. jim and jacqueline, live from akins oval, back to you. >> thanks to both of you, important words they will be because he will be speaking to those who were instrumental in planning this event all week long and through the papal mass, which was of course the grind finale for the pope's visit during his ten days in cuba and the united states. >> now the pontiff will head to the airport. here's what's next for the pontiff. he is expected to leave for atlantic aviation in south philadelphia at 6:30. he's expected to arrive at 7:00 where he will meet with vice president joe biden and family. followed by a ceremony where the pope will express his gratitude to city and world meeting of family organizers and supporters. then he will head to the plane and it heads to rome at 8:00.

this is a live look from the motorcade route where we are waiting to see the pontiff, where the pope is headed, and you're looking at that right now. and you see some of the vehicles and the road pretty much cleared out. but they will make the way for him so he can have an easy and smooth journey to the airport before he heads off to italy. we'll have more live coverage coming up.

>> announcer: you're watching nbc 10's coverage of the pope in philadelphia. welcome back to our live coverage of the papal visit to philadelphia. what you're looking at here, a live picture where we anticipate the pope's motorcade will shortly be making its way to

philadelphia international airport for his final event and then his departure to rome. it's been a busy day for him. >> it has. pope francis made the most of every minute he had here. >> he had along day yesterday as well and his agenda today was just as jam-packed. that was the thunderous welcome pope francis received when he arrived at the seminary just before this morning's speech. sem nairians vigorously applauding the holy father and some even shouting "papa." and there you see pope francis walking down the aisle to the altar in the church there. and before this event, he held a meeting with bishops at the seminary and talked about the handling of the clergy's child sex abuse scandal. and francis also met with

victims of the abuse at the seminary today. >> translator: those who have survived the abuse have become true heralds of mercy. >> that after meeting with past victims of abuse, francis promising to hold those responsiblor for the scandal accountable. he vowed to create a new vatican tribunal to prosecute bishops who fail to protect their flock by covering up for pedophile priest. meanwhile, s.n.a.p. released a statement today saying, quote, is a child anywhere on earth safer now that a pope for maybe the seventh or eighth time or ninth time has briefly chatted with abuse victims? no. a smart public relations move. that's what this meeting is. nothing more, end quote. after the mass at the seminary, the pope's next stop was a local

prison. >> but before leaving the seminary, the pontiff got quite the send-off. ♪ >> this was scene outside of st. charles seminary as semin y seminaryians sang to pope francis. they clapped and gathered around the holy father before finally giving him a big round of applause. and immediately afterwards, the pontist hopped in the front of this golf cart heading off to the correctional facility. philadelphia archbishop joined pope francis for the short ride. the holy father eventually boarded a mel tear helicopter that transported him to the prison in northeast philadelphia. that golf court took the pope to marine one waiting to whisk him away from the seminary. he was on his way to his next stop, the correctional facility. >> here is the distance the pope had to travel by helicopter.

holmesburg isn't far at all. traveling by car would have taken 40 minutes. the pope arrived at the correctional facility around 10:30 this morning and he sat in that chair, made especially for him by some of the inmates. but before sitting down he took a good look at it and he gave a thumbs-up to the inmates who made it. afterwards, he spoke to the inmates both men and women and their families about sharing in their pain. >> translator: dear brothers and sisters, thank you for receiving me and giving me the opportunity to be here with you and to share this time in your lives. it is a difficult time, one full of struggles. i know it is a painful time not only for you but also for your families and for all of society. any society, any family which cannot share or take seriously

the pain of its children and views that pain as something normal or to be expected is a society condemned to remain a hostage to itself. pray to the very things that cause that pain. >> the pope bent on to say that he was there as a pastor and a brother to share in their situation and make it his own. and after addressing the inmates, he individually shook each of their hands. he went down each and every row. he stopped to speak to every inmate. inmates' families were there as well. shook each of their hands as you see right there row by row. and then there were a few brave inmates who decided they wanted to ask if they could actually stand and hug the pope. and the holy father obliged. perhaps much to the chagrin of surrounding security members, but everybody seemed to take it in stride. >> after that inmate, then a couple of the other inmates followed suit and were brave

enough to ask for a hug as well. well, we know the pope did not slow down on this last day in the united states at all. >> no. he continued to keep a very busy schedule, adding in some unexpected stops, too. one of those stops was at st. joseph's university in philadelphia. the pontiff's press office made an announcement of the extra stop to visit sick priests and bless a statue. word of this last-minute visit had students and hundreds of others lining the streets of city avenue earlier today. >> we heard he was coming, and we just raced down here to see. we heard he was coming to st. joe's so we just wanted to try and get a glimpse. >> we didn't know what time or any exact details so we thought we'd give it a shot. >> we feel honored the pope is in our city and we want to see him. >> from st. joe's, the pope headed toward the parkway where he celebrated mass at 4:00 p.m.

>> and before mass got under way, this scene right here, the pope greeting an adoring crowd on the ben franklin parkway in his popemobile, the pope really took his time here and at points stopped to bless several babies and children along the way. our unofficial count was that he kissed 12 babies and 3 children. may have been more than that. missed one or two maybe. he certainly relished in those moments. and during the parade, as we said, he stopped at points. this was another place where he stopped, to bless the -- right next to the ka need row. the grato art project is made more than 30,000 white ribbons each enjiscribed with a hardshi. knots for the project have been gathered from around the world. another spontaneous moment there. and the pope then headed down the ben franklin parkway.

>> motorcade also slowed so he could waive could to the crowd. we're going to take another live look at the ben franklin bridge. we now have traffic moving once again, which we haven't seen for a couple of days. that's not the ben franklin actually. >> the platt bridge. >> we're waiting to see the pope cross this route here. ♪ >> music played as the pope was led onto the stage. he bowed to the cross. he was then led around the altar and during his homily, his message focused on the significance and the importance of family. >> translator: in my own home,

do we shout? or do we speak to each other in love and tenderness? that's a good way of measuring our love. how beautiful it would be if everywhere and even beyond our own borders we could appreciate and encourage this prophecy and this miracle. >> 500 priests then helped serve communion to the crowd out there on the parkway. and it went very smoothly. all right, once again, you're looking at live pictures as we anticipate the arrival of pope francis in the coming minutes at philadelphia international airport. his motorcade should be making its way to the dow terminal.

they with awaiting his motorcade to arrive there. and as we await his arrival at the airport, we'll pause. we'll be right back.

this a live look from the airport where the pope is headed outside the terminal where he is expected to take that route in his motorcade. the holy father's final moments during this historic visit. >> for so many others, now the mass exodus begins. >> it took some people hours to get into the city. now the question is, how long will it take to get out? nbc 10's jordan spencer is live at jefferson station in center city where people are trying to get on trains headed to the suburbs. how's it going right now? >> reporter: so far, so good. we're at 12th and -- which has basically become an above-ground transit hub. we can look at the people behind me and you can see it extends back quite a bit. this is the line of folk that's are trying to get out of the

ft. washington line on the other side of this street is the warminster line. this is just sort of an scam mg of what's going on right now. if you look down this way, underneath the bridge in the distance you can see the forms of people that's different regional rail lines headed out to different suburbs. what we can tell you is what we've been seeing is sights similar to this, these lines seem to form and then disapate relatively quickly based on what we've seen at this particular location. people aren't waiting excessive amounts of time at least so far, but we caught up with a lot of people who were actually leaving the mass early to try and beat crowds like this. >> we have a hard time getting back last night on the train. >> reporter: thought you'd beat the rush today then. >> yes. and the trains were overloaded so it was a little rough ride going. so we didn't want to get caught up in that tonight. >> reporte >> it's going to be a lot messier i think after the mass.

>> reporter: you're just beating the crowds. >>or we're trying. i'm tired. >> reporter: and the crowds are out. we'll be keeping an eye on it for you. back to you now, jim and jacqueline. >> here is a live picture right now. the motorcade carrying pope francis and the fiat is going to right there just moments ago was shown as part of the motorcade. he is headed to atlantic aviation where there will be a gesture of gratitude, a private reception, with vice president joe biden, dr. jill biden and family and 500 members of the world meeting of families. >> we'll be right back. ♪

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