Music and inspiration at Festival of Families
PHILADELPHIA -- Pope Francis and thousands of pilgrims enjoyed a little music from the Queen of Soul, Andrew Bocelli and others at the end of his first day in the city.
Aretha Franklin led an all-star lineup at the Festival of Families, one of the events hosted by the World Meeting of Families.
The festival included song, prayer and testimonials from people from different continents on the joys and challenges of family life, including an Argentine couple celebrating their 60th wedding anniversary.
Actor and fellow Catholic Mark Wahlberg hosted the big event on the vibrant World Meeting of Families stage.
At the show's opening, Wahlberg credited his Catholic faith and a parish priest for his success.
"I attribute all of my success to my Catholic faith," he told the crowd. "My faith has given me the ability to be a good father, a good husband and, most importantly, a good person."
A special moment in the night came when a 14-year-old member of the Keystone Boys Choir sang to the pope, and then presented him with a gift.
Highlighting the theme behind the week-long celebration, families from the U.S., Australia, Ukraine, Jordan, Nigeria, and his homeland of Argentina shared their personal stories on stage.
After each family spoke, the pope greeted and spoke with them, and later addressed the crowd at length about the importance of families, urging people to take special care of children and grandparents.
"In the family, there are difficulties, but those difficulties are overcome with love," he said through an interpreter. "Love is about celebration, love is joy, love is moving forward."
During the event, the pope also signed a commemorative mural created by World Meeting of Families.
Before Francis' arrival, Sister Sledge performed a special rendition of the hit "We Are Family," adding another gender to proclaim, "I've got all my sisters and my brothers with me," and referring to Jesus as "the way, the truth, the light."
Toward the end of the festival, Juanes joined the Pennsylvania Girlchoir and the Keystone State Boychoir in singing both in English and Spanish: "This world needs more love. This world needs more love. This world just needs more love."
Like thousands of others around the city, pilgrims without a ticket enjoyed the show, and all of the day's festivities, from the Benjamin Franklin Parkway including the papal parade.
Pope Francis will celebrate an outdoor Mass on the same stage Sunday, ending his first-ever U.S. trip.
