A large official delegation from Philadelphia crossed the ocean for a series of official meetings and work, with the objective of finalizing the details for the days in September.

The delegation, led by Archbishop Charles Chaput and the city's mayor Michael Nutter, was received by Pope Francis, at the end of Wednesday's General Audience, and by the Mayor of Rome, Ignazio Marino.

During a working session at the Pontifical Council, the superiors of the Dicastery and the delegation of the meeting's organizing committee (with the presence of Auxiliary Bishop McIntyre) took stock of the situation three months before the event. On that occasion Msgr. Paglia stressed the need for close collaboration between all the organizations involved, throughout a week that is expected to be extremely complex because of the estimated number of participants.

During the press conference on Thursday, Msgr. Paglia emphasized the international nature of the event, centered on families, with their stories, joys and hardships. He also announced that, at the end of the Mass, the Pope will give the Gospel of Luke to the families from five of the world's major cities (Hanoi, Kinshasa, Havana, Marseille and Sidney); "We want—said Archbishop Paglia—the Gospel of Mercy to be announced in the great cities of the world, especially in poorer and peripheral neighborhoods. We want to provide the nourishment of the Gospel to the families of the world so that they may build bonds of love between them, in the Church and in society."

Archbishop Chaput and Bishop McIntyre described the event, the numbers of expected participants and the resources used. Msgr. McIntyre also announced the names of the speakers who will give the six major reports that will mark the initial days of the Theological Pastoral Congress: Fr. Barron, Cardinals Sarah and Tagle, Prof. Alvare, and the De La Guardia couple.

A dinner in the beautiful setting of the Casina Pio IV, in the Vatican, finally ratified the friendship and gratitude to the entire American delegation present in Rome: "See you soon in Philly!"