They'll be sleeping on the ground among bugs and birds, near lions and tigers, but the parishioners of Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church in Ridgewood, N.J., decided they'd do it if that's what it took to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia.
With hotel room prices shooting sky-high as far back as a year ago, Cathy Hunt, the church's director of religious education, sought out, in Francis fashion, humbler lodgings. After a little negotiating with the Philadelphia Zoo, the group cemented plans to roll out sleeping bags inside two buildings that contain the insect and bird exhibits.
More than 60 families of Our Lady of Mount Carmel are signed up for the church's late-September pilgrimage to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia -- the capstone of Pope Francis' five-day visit to the United States, his first as pope.
Parishioners expect to walk a few miles back and forth between the zoo and the festival site, but at $120 per person, including transportation from their church to the zoo, about 115 miles, it's a bargain as reservations get tougher to come by with only two months to go before the festival.
But Hunt issued some cautions. She calculated the walk between the Philadelphia Zoo and the festival site at the Benjamin Franklin Parkway will be 1.7 miles. And since she isn't sure how close their bus will get to the zoo, the group might have to walk a good amount more back and forth.
The parish is allowing only families on the trip, specifically those who attend the church or have children at Academy of Our Lady School in Glen Rock, N.J., which is shared with the parish. Because the group will be sleeping in rows on the floors of the zoo exhibits, however, Hunt decided to exclude any children younger than 4.
Other groups hoping to book the zoo are probably out of luck: Hunt said the Mount Carmel crew of about 240 is using all the space it had to offer.
The Mount Carmel group is prepared to make the most of its pilgrimage. A photo-taking committee came up with a Twitter and Instagram hashtag -- #olmczoocrew -- and a slogan: "We're sleeping in the zoo, Pope Francis, so we can see you."
"There's something just being there with all those other people from all over the world," Hunt said. "It will be wonderful to pray with the pope and all those other people."
Father Gino de la Rama, who is going on the pilgrimage, said he would be most excited if the pope kissed one of the children in the group and if its entourage of photographers managed to capture the moment.
"That would be my dream," he said.
Religion on 08/01/2015