Last Tuesday saw a cordial and productive meeting at the Pontifical Council for the Family between Council President Archbishop Vincenzo Paglia and a Philadelphia delegation led by Archbishop Charles Chaput.
 
The meeting, which was attended as well by the Governor of Pennsylvania, Tom Corbett and the Mayor of Philadelphia, Michael Nutter, discussed preparations for the next World Meeting of Families, which will be held in Philadelphia in 2015. At the end of the meeting, Archbishops Paglia and Chaput signed an understanding that confirmed Philadelphia as the location of the Meeting and expressed the hope–shared by all present–that Pope Francis would himself be present at the Meeting: “We want to prepare to welcome the spiritual leader of the world,” said the mayor, “so that all Americans can hear directly his message of love.” Then, in a charming gesture, Archbishop Paglia brought the meeting to a close by ringing a small replica of Philadelphia’s “Liberty Bell” that Mayor Nutter had presented to him.