Pope Francis in New York City: Behind the Scenes

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This welcome appeared on the side of a building near Madison Square Garden weeks before the pope celebrated a Mass there.

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Even the New York Pope, er, Post got into the spirit of things with a temporary change in its masthead.

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These priests from St. Anianus Coptic Orthodox Church in Princeton, New Jersey, were invited to the Pope’s interfaith service at the 9/11 Memorial. Father Michael Sorial is on the far left.

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Father Michael Sorial took this picture of the pope with his phone at the 9/11 memorial service.

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Savvy vendors were selling souvenirs of the Pope’s visit everywhere he went.

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“I love Pope Francis” t-shirts were among the popular items sold near the 9/11 Memorial where Pope Francis conducted an interfaith service.

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About 80,000 people won free tickets to see the pope’s procession in Central Park, through a lottery run by the city. They began lining up more than 8 hours before the procession began.

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An hour before the security check-in officially opened, lines to enter stretched over 12 blocks long.

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For the thousands standing in line, reaching these signs indicated they were getting close to the security screening point.

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These tickets were prized possessions for many.

Read More: One Guideposts staff member shares a personal reflection on seeing the Pope in Central Park.

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Ticket holders waited patiently for hours as they made their way through the security check, where bags were searched and metal detectors were used.

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Once through security, some attendees checked this clock that looks over the park from Central Park South to keep an eye on the countdown for the Pope’s arrival.

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Ticket holders were assigned to zones and ushered into particular areas of the park, bordered by metal barricades. On this  hill, hundreds of attendees awaited the Pope’s arrival.

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One eagle-eyed observer spotted Pope Francis waving from the back seat of a Fiat as he made his way through East Harlem to Central Park.

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About an hour before the pope’s arrival in the park, many in the crowd noticed several rainbows appeared overhead,  despite the fact that there had been no rain. 

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When Pope Francis entered the park, he transferred from his now-famous Fiat to the Popemobile and waved to the throngs as he made his way.

READ MORE: A HOPE-FILLED GLIMPSE OF POPE FRANCIS