Pilgrims make final trek to Philadelphia for papal Mass

With minimal lines at security checkpoints, Catholics who came to see Pope Francis' Mass on Sunday afternoon started arriving before the sun came up. Watch video

PHILADELPHIA -- Hundreds became thousands and, if predictions are right, could swell to millions as Center City streets began filling up before Pope Francis was scheduled to celebrate Mass Sunday. 

Pilgrims lined the streets before the 4 p.m. Mass, the pope's final public appearance in the U.S. after a week-long schedule that took him to Washington D.C., New York City and Philadelphia.

"I hope to leave with inspirational feelings for myself, my family and community," said Dan Paschke, a Bethlehem, Pennsylvania resident who was about as close to the main stage along the Ben Franklin Parkway as one could get without an assigned seat.

Paschke, like so many others who trekked across the city this weekend, arrived in the pre-dawn hours long before the sun rose to reveal an overcast fall day.

Many more pilgrims made patches of grass along the Parkway their beds for the night, waking on cardboard mattresses to a breakfast of free Wawa water bottles. They broke out acoustic guitars and led groups in song; they follow Francis' footsteps into Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul for the 8 a.m. Mass and watched enormous television screens as Francis met with bishops at St. Martin's Chapel.

Pawel Kozaka and Maggie Tracz were just waking up at 7 a.m. after a night of fellowship with other Catholics during the World Meeting of Families, which stretched past 10:30 p.m.

Although the two were in high spirits and ready for what Sunday would bring, a two-hour long security check-in line caused them to miss Pope Francis' trip around the Parkway Saturday evening.

"We never had tickets," Tracz said of flying out from Chicago. "It was for the Mass."

At the edge of the non-ticketed access area, Jenkintown, PA resident Tom McLaughlin was organizing his personal possessions ahead of an hours-long wait for the holy experience to commence.

McLaughlin, who took a SEPTA route into the city, said most of the approximately 150 other people on board got off at his stop and headed to the Francis Festival grounds.

"I hope to be part of the Mass and in the presence of the Holy Father and enjoy people celebrating his presence," he said.

Closer to the main stage, the slow trickle of pilgrims who passed the security checkpoint waited until their feet touched the Parkway to release cries of joy. They posed for group photos while holding their tickets and meandered around the area in search of a spot to call home on Sunday.

Just across the street from the main stage, Bernard Krasnisky and Geralyn Gilotti settled in for the afternoon.

The two arrived by train around 8:30 a.m. and said they hope to "take away the Papal blessing.

"Hopefully it lasts," Gilotti joked.

"We're part of a historic event here," said Krasnisky, who saw Pope John Paul II when he made his U.S. visit in 1979.

Krasnisky, wearing an Philadelphia Eagles hat and windbreaker, was asked about the football team's 1 p.m. game against the New York Jets. After offering commentary on the release of third-string quarterback Tim Tebow and Coach Chip Kelly's technique, he returned his thoughts to the papal Mass. 

"One event at a time," he said.