Lansdale Catholic Grad Hosts Pope Francis Overnight In Montgomery County

Like any one of the hundreds of thousands who came to Philadelphia this weekend for the Papal visit, Pope Francis himself needed a place to stay Saturday night.

He chose the St. Charles Borromeo Seminary in Wynnewood, Montgomery County for that purpose.

And the rector at St. Charles, set on a large swath of land at the intersection of City Avenue and Lancaster Avenue, is Bishop Tim Senior.

Senior was part of the Lansdale Catholic graduating class of 1977.

“As a young seminarian, I was inspired by the 1979 visit of Pope Saint John Paul II to Saint Charles and I am delighted that our seminarians will share in this same joy this September,” Rector said in a welcome message to Francis.

“It is particularly thrilling for Pope Francis to be at the seminary at this time as we experience a recent growth in vocations, a new momentum for our campus revitalization and new collaborations with partners like Saint Joseph’s and Villanova Universities.”

Francis made an unscheduled, impromptu stop at St. Joseph’s University in the afternoon on Sunday. It was the first time a Pope ever visited a Jesuit university in the United States.

Image courtesy Bridget Kaniewski.