Scarsdale Resident and Iona College Grad Overseeing Logistics of Pope Francis Visit

And you thought arranging logistics for the Super Bowl was a big deal.

For Alfred Kelly Jr. of Scarsdale, it’s only the second biggest event he has overseen in the Metropolitan New York area. This week’s visit from Pope Francis is considerably bigger.

The 57-year-old Iona College grad is the Chief Layman for the visit, reportsThe New York Times, meaning Kelly is essentially in charge of the event. He held a similar, albeit less religious title for the 2014 Super Bowl at MetLife Stadium.

“The demand I’m feeling, the pressure I’m feeling for tickets is much more difficult here than for the Super Bowl,” Kelly told The Times. “Between the letters and calls we’ve received, we knew we could fill the Garden several times over.”

Of course, being a former president of American Express, which Kelly also was, carries a lot of pressure, too. Balancing the demands of multiple interests (the Vatican and the Archdiocese of New York), and also keeping the event on a relatively modest budget has been a challenge, but Kelly appears to have more than reached those goals.

“The pope is a simple man,” Kelly told The Times. “We’ve tried to run this operation in a very efficient, cost-sensitive manner. We’re not trying to do gold-plated.”

Click here to read the full story on The New York Times website.

Photo: Alfred Kelly Jr. Photo credit: Iona College