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‘Faithful Towel', jerseys to help Pittsburgh stand out at papal visit

PHILADELPHIA — Over 1,000 people from Pittsburgh will travel to Philadelphia in September for the World Meeting of Families and papal visit – and they’ll be easy to spot.

According to NBC10 Philadelphia, the Terrible Towel has been re-imagined by Helene Paharik, associate general secretary at the Diocese of Pittsburgh, as the Faithful Towel.

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The towel is a way for Pittsburgh locals to be able to find one another in the crowd, and make Pittsburgh’s presence easy to recognize for everyone, Paharik said.

"I wanted our pilgrims to be able to spot one another in the crowd. And just as importantly, for all the folks watching the Papal Mass on TV, I wanted them to be able to spot Pittsburgh in the crowd," Paharik said.

In addition to waving the towels, those from Pittsburgh are expected to be decked out in black and gold.

The diocese is making T-shirt jerseys that have an image of Pope Francis on the front and his name with a number 1 on the back.

"Hundreds of Pittsburghers in black and gold, waving their Faithful Towels, just might be visible in the crowd of over 1 million," Paharik said. "On game days, everyone in Pittsburgh is decked out in black and yellow -- office workers, cashiers at the grocery stores, nurses, you name it. Nothing says Pittsburgh better than black and yellow."

Those who travel across the state to see the pope will also be performing volunteer work while in the City of Brotherly Love.

Pittsburghers will help the homeless of Philadelphia by funding a meal for them and donating winter clothes. They also will work with other Catholics in the city to help prepare 200,000 emergency meals to send to families in West Africa.

"It’s not just about seeing Pope Francis for our group. It's about listening to what he is telling us," Paharik said.

WPXI

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