Dialog reporter
ELSMERE – Anything related to Pope Francis has always been popular at Angel Crossing, but with his visit to Philadelphia just weeks away, owner Michele Lennon has had trouble keeping up with the demand.
“His stuff goes off the wall constantly,” she said during the last week in August. “Every book I bring in, it goes right out. And then the Meeting of Families book, ‘Love Is Our Mission,’ I couldn’t even keep up.”
The papal paraphernalia sits on a table near the entrance, as well as back by the register. There are books – including Francis’ encyclical, “Laudato Si’” – t-shirts, rosaries, charm bracelets, holy cards, pins, photographs, statues and the life-sized cutouts. Everyone wants a photo with the cutouts, Lennon said.
The visit has brought many new customers to Angel Crossing, including some who are not Catholic.
“There’s a lot of non-Catholics who truly love him, too, for what he’s standing for, and he’s standing totally for love. That’s what God is, love,” Lennon said.
Pope Francis’ appeal, she said, stems from his actions.
“I think he’s just so much like St. Francis,” she said. “He just goes out and by his actions he says so much more than speaking. And he just loves, and love is the main thing with everything we do. We have to love like he does.”
Instead of peaking with the visit, Lennon expects business to increase after Pope Francis heads back to the Vatican, although to her Angel Crossing is a ministry, not a business. The more people learn about Pope Francis, the more they will want to know about him.
“I believe the Holy Spirit is going to inflame our diocese and the dioceses around us so that more people will be drawn back to church,” Lennon said.
Angel Crossing is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. and Saturdays from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. With Sundays off and a SEPTA pass from Wilmington, Lennon may join the pope in Philadelphia for Mass.
The St. Vincent de Paul Society Council of Wilmington, which is sponsoring several buses to Philadelphia for the Mass, is selling commemorative t-shirts for the event. The Mass is on Sept. 27, the feast of St. Vincent de Paul.
Proceeds from the shirt will be used by the council for its work of assisting the needy with food, rent and mortgages, medicine, utilities, furniture and other necessities.
Barbara Willis of the Council of Wilmington said Bishop Malooly will be given one of the shirts to present to the pope. The council is asking that pilgrims from the Diocese of Wilmington wear the shirt. For more information, contact Willis at (302) 658-4535.
