Miriam Ellis, a Cotter sophomore, recently returned from a journey to see the pope.  On his first visit to America, the pope traveled to Washington, D.C.,  New York, and Philadelphia and  spoke to millions of people.

The idea of going to see the pope was brought to Miriam by a friend of her family who is a religion teacher at Regis Catholic school in Eau Claire, Wisconsin.  A group of kids were going to Philadelphia and New York on a school field trip.

The group set out Thursday, September 24, and saw the pope at the Franklin Institute of Science.  He later spoke at Independence Hall, said a mass at the Philadelphia Art museum, and even visited a correctional facility.

The group was around thirty feet from Pope Francis.

“It was a very fun experience and definitely worth all the traveling to get there. It was really amazing and surreal because it didn’t feel like you really just saw him.” said Miriam.

The pope’s full itinerary can be found here: http://www.usccb.org/about/leadership/holy-see/francis/papal-visit-2015/2015-papal-visit-schedule.cfm

Miriam’s group with a cardboard pope in Philadelphia, or is it the real pontiff?