In a homily to hundreds of thousands at an outdoor Mass packing Philadelphia’s iconic Benjamin Franklin Parkway, Francis said that Jesus’ disciples were also afraid of new things — but that Jesus broke down all barriers to allow the Spirit to do its work.
“Jesus encountered hostility from people who did not accept what he said and did,” the pope told the crowds, many of whom had waited for long hours to participate in the last of his three public Masses while in the U.S.