CatholicMom.com Takes You to World Meeting of Families & Pope Francis' Visit to US

Can you feel it? That excitement in the air that's been building for the last several months has hit a fever pitch now that Pope Francis has begun his historic visit to Cuba and the United States.

My bags are packed and I'm ready to take you all along with me to Philadelphia and Washington D.C.

Here at CatholicMom.com, we're thrilled that we'll have front row seats for many of these wonderful moments. As I type this, my bags are packed and I'm sitting at the airport waiting to begin my journey to Philadelphia to attend the World Meeting of Families. I will be a pilgrim, traveling in the company of my fellow CatholicMom.com and Ave Maria Press author Pat Gohn. While in Philadelphia, Pat and I will be in the company of several of our CatholicMom.com team members. In addition, we'll be virtually traveling to Cuba with Maria Morera Johnson and I'll take you along with me to Washington D.C. for Pope Francis' address to Congress.

To follow our team on social media, check out the Twitter handles of these CM writers:

To help orient yourself to the plans for this week, which include both the Holy Father's travels and the important conversations taking place at World Meeting of Families, here are some helpful resources to assist you in planning for the week:

This week, I will primarily be at the World Meeting of Families with a quick trip to Washington D.C. If you will be in Philadelphia, I'd love to meet you! I have two set opportunities to connect with you:

Tuesday, September 22, 2:00 pm - I will be doing a reading of my chapter from Liguori Publications new book Family, the Church, and the Real World at the Association of Catholic Publishers Booth
Wednesday, September 23, 2:00 pm - Pat Gohn and I will be signing books and visiting in the Ave Maria Press Booth #742

Additionally, I plan to be out and about. If you're on social media and in the area, please ping me at @LisaHendey on Facebook, Instagram or Twitter. To actively follow social streams from this week, I recommend the following hashtags:

Be on the lookout for updates here at the site as well as impromptu sharings throughout the day for the next several days. I'll do my very best to share this pilgrimage and you will most certainly be with me in spirit! Please join me in prayer for Pope Francis and his traveling companions, for the organizers of the various events, for the pilgrims journeying to be with the Pope and at the World Meeting of Families, and especially for all of those who will be spiritually blessed by this apostolic visit.