Catholics across region will join over a million worshipers for a special mass lead by the pontiff

        About a thousand faithful Catholics and their church leaders are preparing to attend the largest church gathering of its kind this weekend when Pope Francis will visit Philadelphia by taking part in World Meeting of Families Congress celebrations.

        Parishes from Philadelphia and Allentown dioceses had rented a fleet of tour buses months in advance to transport parishioners into the city since regional rail and local traffic expecting to operate on delay due to congestion and road closures.

        About 216 members from St. Philip Neri Catholic Church in Pennsburg will board five buses Sunday morning, Sept. 27, and plan to arrive at Philadelphia's Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the 4 p.m. papal mass. Special tickets are required to be in the seating and standing sections. Last week 10,000 free tickets offered online were grabbed in less than 30 seconds as demand and anticipation grew.

        Rick Loy and his wife, Pat, longtime members at St. Philip Neri, said they look forward to traveling to the city with their daughter and granddaughter for a chance to see the church leader they've come to admire.

        "Right away as soon as we found out that buses were going we wanted to go," said Rick Loy. "I never saw the pope before so we said we can't miss this experience of a lifetime."

        The couple said they're happy to see the pope acting as a unifier of the church because too many Catholics have strayed from their faith.

"He reaches out to everyone and doesn't stay just with Catholics. He's universal leader and reaches out to all people of all faiths," Pat Loy noted.

        Other area parishes including St. Mary's Church in Schwenksville, Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Bally and St. Isidore's Parish in Quakertown have organized one-day bus tours to Philadelphia on Sunday with the hopes of seeing the pontiff.  According to officials at St. Francis Academy in Bally, Monsignor Edward Coyle, head of Most Blessed Sacrament Church, traveled to the White House to represent the Catholic War Veterans of America during the pope's visit South Lawn appearance Wednesday. 

        There are 257 parishes with 619 priests serving in the Archdiocese of Philadelphia and total of 104 parishes in the Diocese of Allentown with 210 priests in that territory.  The Most Blessed Sacrament Church in Bally is the only local parish that falls into the territory of the Allentown Diocese.

        The Archdiocese of Philadelphia was chosen to host the triennial World Meeting of Families celebration last year when former PA Governor Tom Corbett and Philadelphia Mayor Michael Nutter traveled to the Vatican to extend a personal welcome to the Pontiff.  The world largest gathering of families, first initiated by the Pope John Paul II in 1994, was previously held in Milan, Italy in 2012. The same pope was also the last church leader who visited Philadelphia in October 1979.

        Due to the popularity of Pope Francis, extra heavy security will be felt throughout Washington D.C., New York and Philadelphia ahead and during his first-time visit to the United States.  Rev. Fred Riegler, at St. Isidore's parish, said he initially started to plan for papal mass by organizing 10 buses to travel to Philadelphia. After Homeland Security got involved in the logistics ahead of the visit, the number of buses dropped significantly to only two buses with just a little over a hundred parishioners attending Sunday's mass. 

        "Back in 1979 the security wasn't a big issue but since then a lot has changed," Riegler noted, remembering when he when he attended the historic public mass on the Parkway led by Pope John Paul II. 

        Riegler said the reason why many parishioners turned down the chance to attend this weekend's mass is because all, including those in poor health, will be forced to walk outside the three-and-one-half mile "traffic box" to find their ride back home. Because of the volume of pedestrians and restricted vehicular movement, visitors would be forced to walk or take public transportation from center city to the Sports Complex in South Philadelphia to get back on the bus.

        Despite the travel logistics and security concerns, a chance to partake at Sunday's historic mass could be a transformative experience for those in attendance, according to Rev. Robert Roncase of St. Philip Neri. He remembered the spiritual aura surrounding Pope John Paul II and about a million people who celebrated mass with him.

        "I always remember the place was packed on that fall day. By the time communion came, the sun was starting to set as a huge choir played "Meditation Hymn." When it was over, the sky was glowing with bright light and you could've heard pin drop in the city of Philadelphia," Roncase said.

        "It was not a bird, not a horn - nothing…It was the most incredible experience as the whole city was silent and beautiful. So I expect something like that again because whenever the pope shows up it's always a unique experience."