PHILADELPHIA — My family and I were part of the diocesan pilgrimage last month to Philadelphia for the VIII World Meeting of Families. Sept. 22 through Sept. 25 was the Congress portion of the meeting and it was a marvelous lineup of some incredible presenters already familiar to American Catholics: Bishop Robert Barron, Dr. Scott Hahn, Dr. Janet Smith, Professor Helen Alvaré, Christopher West, Chris Stefanick, Dr. Gregory and Lisa Popcak, Deacon Harold Burke-Sivers just to name a few. Some others who were likely unknown to most American Catholics were Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle (Archbishop of Manila, Philippines), Pastor "Rick" Warren (Saddleback Church in Lake Forest, Calif.) and Erika Bachiochi (independent scholar and speaker). These and countless others were "diamonds in the rough" ready to be discovered by WMOF Congress attendees.

Not only were the presenters incredible, but the diversity of attendees was spectacular. More than 100 countries were represented and tremendous language and cultural diversity could be encountered simply by turning to one's left or right. It was truly a catholic (meaning universal) event! I wish that more people had been able to attend. There is good news though — you can still receive some of the fruit of the Congress by reading through the preparatory catechesis prepared for the event at www.dio.org/familylife/liom.

The papal events on Sept. 24-25 were quite different from the Congress. Saturday evening was the Festival of Families which was comprised of six families from different parts of the world sharing with the Holy Father their joys and struggles in living the Christian life. Between each families' sharing, a performance of some sort was offered. Bobby Hill, 14 years old, sang acapella Pia Jesu from Andrew Lloyd Weber's Requiem. It brought tears to my eyes — it was so surprisingly beautiful and pure. Pope Francis' concluding remarks were very impassioned and inspiring.

He was not speaking from a text and you could feel the urgency and love he had for building up the church via awakening families to their irreplaceable role in God's design of revealing love to the world: "Being with you makes me think of one of the most beautiful mysteries of our Christian faith. God did not want to come into the world other than through a family. God did not want to draw near to humanity other than through a home. God did not want any other name for himself than Emmanuel (cf. Mt 1:23). He is 'God with us.' This was his desire from the beginning, his purpose, his constant effort: to say to us: 'I am God with you, I am God for you.'"

We were unable to enter into the area where the Papal Mass was celebrated on Sept. 25. We stood in line for six hours and never made it to the security gates. It was perhaps the most powerful part of the pilgrimage in some ways. We could hear the Our Father being sung as well as the Sign of Peace being exchanged and someone was livestreaming the Mass nearby so we knew when the consecration was happening and could kneel down in spiritual communion.

Two things struck me and my wife during the experience of painful waiting; how powerful an opportunity for being in solidarity with the refugees in Syria

and elsewhere who are waiting for freedom and peace. Secondly, what a potent analogy it was for the poor souls in purgatory who yearn to experience the fullness of Christ face to face. After Mass was over and we were making our way out of line one woman shouted, "God bless your family for being here!" It was an inspiring conclusion to a physical, emotional and spiritual crucible.

Overall it was very edifying to see so many Catholics united for one purpose: being near the successor of Peter! It was marvelous to be able to learn from so many wonderful leaders in our faith in such a concentrated environment. Venerating the major relics/tombs of three saints (John Neumann, Maria Goretti and Katharine Drexel) in three days was a special grace. It was fantastic to spend so much time with brothers and sisters from our diocese while on pilgrimage — they all helped us so much as we navigated the challenges of staying together as a family in the midst of the crowds. We truly could not have done it without them.

I emphatically encourage all of us to make preparations for the IX World Meeting of Families in 2018 in Dublin, Ireland.