PHILADELPHIA, Pa. — Four dozen students and chaperones from Oakland Catholic made the trip to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis, including one student who made it a family affair.
Bella Alampi, a senior at Oakland Catholic, left with her mother at 4 a.m. Friday morning to head to Philadelphia.
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When Bella heard the pope would visit the City of Brotherly Love, she knew it was a once-in-a-lifetime chance.
“I was like, I have to go,” she told Channel 11. “I have to go.”
Alampi said she was excited “to be around people who all have the same goal to be good, strong Catholics.”
It’s a goal she’s now sharing with her mother Maria, who acted as one of the chaperones for the trip.
“With our relationship and our faith together it would be a good experience to both go and for me to see through her eyes this experience,”
Maria Alampi said. While Bella’s father and brother didn’t make the trip to Philadelphia, she knows they’ll be with her in spirit.
Her father Joseph was diagnosed with cancer two years ago, and Bella said the pope’s visit gives her hope that her father will be healed.
“The Holy Spirit that flows through the Pope, the Holy Spirit will come and make my father better,” Bella said.
The journey to see the pope won’t be without sacrifice. Maria and Bella will be sleeping on the floor of a church and showering at a nearby gym during their stay.
“It’s worth it to have that experience because who knows if I will ever see the pope again?” Bella Alampi said.
Both mother and daughter said it’s all worth it to be able to strengthen their faith and family together in Philadelphia.
WPXI
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