Area Catholic shrines not on Pope’s agenda

Millions are expected to visit Philadelphia this September to see Pope Francis in his first trip to the United States — and thousands of visitors will stay in Bucks and Montgomery counties.
The pontiff will participate in the closing ceremonies of the four-day World Meeting of Families and the Festival of Families in Philadelphia on Sept. 26 and preside over a papal Mass on Sept. 27 — events that thousands of local residents will attend.
And while the Vatican hasn’t released details of Pope Francis’ itinerary beyond the closing ceremonies, the festival and the Mass, the Holy Father won’t make stops at the National Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel in Bensalem or the National Shrine of Our Lady of Czestochowa in New Britain Township, according to officials at the shrines.
(Where would you suggest the Pope visit in Bucks, Burlington or Montgomery counties? Send us your suggestions.)
The Czestochowa shrine, which has become an international Catholic landmark since it was dedicated in 1966, could accommodate a crowd of 25,000. But its surrounding roads cannot.
“It would have been nice to have him here, but it would be impossible,” said the Rev. Edward Volz, the shrine’s director. “It just wouldn’t be practical for the people here and the town.”
He blames the limited road access on Ferry Road that he said, “could never handle the traffic.”
Volz recalled President Lyndon Johnson’s visit in 1966 for the deication, saying the only way to get people to the shrine was to bus them in.
“There was nothing moving on Route 313 and 202,” he said. “The roads — that’s our dilemma.”
“After the second world war, many Polish people were displaced with the German occupation; those who came to the United States, wanted to have a shrine to Our Lady,” said Volz. “It’s out of faith that they built it here.”
Sister Patricia Downs at the National Shrine of St. Katharine Drexel in Bensalem also said there are no plans for a papal visit in September.
“I positively know he’s not coming, based on everything I know,” she said. “We have no information about where he is going to go.”
Located beneath the chapel at the motherhouse of the Sisters of the Blessed Sacrament, the shrine is the final resting place of St. Katharine Drexel.
Born into a wealthy Philadelphia family, Drexel gave up her affluent life to devote herself to serving poor and oppressed Native Americans and African Americans. Pope John Paul II beatified Drexel on Nov. 20, 1988. She was canonized Oct. 1, 2000, as St. Katharine Drexel.