rosemary conners live outside the basilica.hank you. >> keep showing you live pictures outside the basilica and inside washington, d.c. and bring you the mass live as soon as pope francis says it. it appears he's several minutes behind schedule. was set for 4:15. >> a live look inside the basilica of the national shrine. the largest roman catholic church in north america. 3600 u.s. seminarians and men and women novices seated in the upper church. >>> thousands are waiting to see the pope, as we take a live look. bishops walk out side the basilica. mass and homilies celebrated in spanish but you'll hear english. >> we'll bring you canonization live. watch uninterrupted on nbc 10 news aep pope francis preparing to celebrate. we'll show it next. >>> this is nbc 10 news. >> here's a live look outside the basilica, where pope francis has entered and is in front of a crowd of 25,000 people. we have about 15,000 that are seated, 10,000 people standing. he's just entered and people are very quiet. you can hear music there. getting read

nbc 10's rosemary conners covering the events for us in washington and joins us live. ite a day to remember there, rosemary. >> reporter: quite a day. throughout the mass here, we've seen people engaged in deep prayer, clutching their rosaries, listening closely to the pope's words especially during the homily. shared a message of mercy and love, telling followers to go forth, proclaim the good news. they can't imagine being at any other place today. >> waving the flag and hopefully it will put a smile on his face. >> reporter: the argentinian flag in honor of the pope's country, families all over brought their children to see the holy father celebrate the special and rare canonization mass in front of a crowd of 25,000. >> we got the tickets from our church and found out last night at 11:00. >> it's special, my wife's birthday, and her family 's from argentina, makes that nice connection. >> to be here with pope francis, so wonderful, the pope of the people. >> reporter: from rosaries to prayer cards and miraculous medals pilgrims couldn't resist the opportunity to sna

rosemary conners is in washington with people who witnessed here. >> i was really there. >> reporter:otional moment that trid and joyce garza did not expect. they waited patiently to snap a picture of the pope but underestimated the lasting impression it would have. >> i didn't know how to react. he's right there! hi! you know? they say every time he does this he's blessing you. so i could use the blessing from the pope. >> he's a rock here tonight. >> the people of the community who aren't necessarily the most desirable, pope francis seems to do that, he leads by example. it's just inspiring to try and emulate that and just aspire to be a better christian in that way. >> i knew i'd be excited but it was like, oh my gosh, there he is. the group, there was just this energy. it was just kind of magical. >> reporter: sisters donna and deborah were impressed by the calm of the crowd at the canonization mass. and the planning on the part of the organizers as every element of the liturgy appeared to be seamless. >> the way they handled communion, holy communion, how in the world are they go

rosemary conners and matt will be in the nation's capital as the pontiff begins his u.s. visit. >> details on a security threat just ahead of the pope's visit to philly. nbc news obtained a copy of a memo sent to law enforcement in pennsylvania. although not specific to the papal visit, it warns about terrorists impersonating first responders. radnor township's superintendent says police will keep a close eye to spot anyone in a fake uniform. >> officers in today's era are trained not to just look at a uniform or a badge and be fooled and think that person is a bona fide law enforcement agent because that's not true. >> today's memo pointed to an incident from last year. police say if you suspect someone is impersonating a cop, firefighter or emt, call your police department. >>> tonight we're seeing bigger changes as philadelphia heads into lockdown. >> randy gyllenhaal is live in wynnewood cleese to where the pope will be staying. it's eseasy to see transformations it taking place all over the area. >> reporter: the pope doesn't get here till saturday. he's going to be