We approach a barrier and stop. We are told by military police that I can go further but my wife cannot. It's all about the press badge. She says go. We part. Halfway towards Independence Mall, I meet one of the stewards in charge of crowd control. I am told about 500,000 people are up ahead of me. He tells me to follow him. Fifteen minutes later we are outside The Bourse, a landmark Philadelphia building, behind a barrier with hundreds of mostly Hispanics waiting with cell phones, cameras, and I-pads to see Il Papa.

We wait and I strike up conversations with people around me. Being tall helps. Suddenly, the crowd starts to roar; the Pope is coming! A fleet of motorcycles and large SUVs come into view, then suddenly he is there in his Popemobile dressed in his characteristic white, smiling, and waving. The crowd goes crazy, screaming "Pope Francis, Pope Francis." He acknowledges and waves back smiling.

I am wary of mass outpourings of praise towards any man including a pope (I've watched too many movies with adoring crowds crying Heil Hitler, Mussolini, Tito, Mao, and Stalin), but there is something different going on here. Is it because this is the first pope that actually appears human, tender, who warmly smiles, kisses babies, prays over crippled children, who washes feet, lives simply (and what head of state would be seen dead in a Fiat for heaven's sake) - and seems genuinely genuine? It is love, not worship of a man.

What is happening is an outpouring of love for a man who offers forgiveness for divorcees, for women who have had abortions, and holds out an olive branch to homosexuals who are willing to be celibate and hold to church teaching. It is easy to see why this 78-year old Latino has an approval rating of 90% among Catholics and 70% from most Americans. He is not remotely sexy, but he has rock star status way ahead of Bono. He exudes a sort of otherness, a kind of tenderness and holiness that grabs one. There is no pretense about the man. What you see is what you get. He exudes sincerity, simplicity and warmth. He has captured the hearts of everyone. In Philadelphia right now his approval rating is probably 110%.

In his speech, the Pope talked about liberty and equality for all men and women. He gives a passionate speech on religious freedom, immigration and tolerance.

"The Quakers who founded Philadelphia were inspired by a profound evangelical sense of the dignity of each individual and the ideal of a community united by brotherly love," he said. "This conviction led them to found a colony which would be a haven of religious freedom and tolerance. That sense of fraternal concern for the dignity of all, especially the weak and the vulnerable, became an essential part of the American spirit."

"You should never be ashamed of your traditions. Do not forget the lessons you learned from your elders, which are something you can bring to enrich the life of this American land.

"The Declaration of Independence states that all men and women are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain inalienable rights, and that governments exist to protect and defend those rights. Those ringing words continue to inspire us today, even as they have inspired peoples throughout the world to fight for the freedom to live in accordance with their dignity.

"But history also shows that these or any truths must constantly be reaffirmed, re-appropriated and defended. The history of this nation is also the tale of a constant effort, lasting to our own day, to embody those lofty principles in social and political life. We remember the great struggles which led to the abolition of slavery, the extension of voting rights, the growth of the labor movement, and the gradual effort to eliminate every kind of racism and prejudice directed at successive waves of new Americans. This shows that, when a country is determined to remain true to its founding principles, based on respect for human dignity, it is strengthened and renewed.

"All of us benefit from remembering our past. A people which remembers does not repeat past errors; instead, it looks with confidence to the challenges of the present and the future. Remembrance saves a people's soul from whatever or whoever would attempt to dominate it or use it for their interests. When individuals and communities are guaranteed the effective exercise of their rights, they are not only free to realize their potential, they also contribute to the welfare and enrichment of society.

"In this place which is symbolic of the American way, I would like to reflect with you on the right to religious freedom. It is a fundamental right which shapes the way we interact socially and personally with our neighbors whose religious views differ from our own. Religious freedom certainly means the right to worship God, individually and in community, as our consciences dictate. But religious liberty, by its nature, transcends places of worship and the private sphere of individuals and families. Religious freedom isn't a subculture, it's a part of every people and nation.

"Our various religious traditions serve society primarily by the message they proclaim. They call individuals and communities to worship God, the source of all life, liberty and happiness. They remind us of the transcendent dimension of human existence and our irreducible freedom in the face of every claim to absolute power. We need but look at history, especially the history of the last century, to see the atrocities perpetrated by systems which claimed to build one or another "earthly paradise" by dominating peoples, subjecting them to apparently indisputable principles and denying them any kind of rights. Our rich religious traditions seek to offer meaning and direction, "they have an enduring power to open new horizons, to stimulate thought, to expand the mind and heart" (Evangelii Gaudium, 256). They call to conversion, reconciliation, concern for the future of society, self-sacrifice in the service of the common good, and compassion for those in need. At the heart of their spiritual mission is the proclamation of the truth and dignity of the human person and human rights.

"In a world where various forms of modern tyranny seek to suppress religious freedom, or try to reduce it to a subculture without right to a voice in the public square, or to use religion as a pretext for hatred and brutality, it is imperative that the followers of the various religions join their voices in calling for peace, tolerance and respect for the dignity and rights of others.

"We live in a world subject to the "globalization of the technocratic paradigm" (Laudato Si', 106), which consciously aims at a one-dimensional uniformity and seeks to eliminate all differences and traditions in a superficial quest for unity. The religions thus have the right and the duty to make clear that it is possible to build a society where "a healthy pluralism which respects differences and values them as such" (Evangelii Gaudium, 255) is a "precious ally in the commitment to defending human dignity... and a path to peace in our troubled world" (ibid., 257).

"There's a tendency to globalization. Globalization isn't bad, on the contrary, the tendency towards globalization is good, unites us, it can be noble. But if it pretends to makes us all the same, as if we were an sphere, it destroys the individual things (particularidades) of each people and each person.

"If globalization tries to unite respecting the person and it's individualities, each people and it's individualities, it's good and led to peace. If it's an sphere, where everyone is an equal dot, at the same distance from the center, it cancels. If it's like a polihedron, everyone united but with their own identity, it's good and gives rights to the peoples.

Don't be ashamed of that which is an essential part of you. You're also called to be responsible citizens.

Among us today are members of America's large Hispanic population, as well as representatives of recent immigrants to the United States. I greet all of you with particular affection! Many of you have emigrated to this country at great personal cost, but in the hope of building a new life. Do not be discouraged by whatever challenges and hardships you face. I ask you not to forget that, like those who came here before you, you bring many gifts to your new nation. You should never be ashamed of your traditions. Do not forget the lessons you learned from your elders, which are something you can bring to enrich the life of this American land. I repeat, do not be ashamed of what is part of you, your life blood. You are also called to be responsible citizens, and to contribute fruitfully to the life of the communities in which you live. I think in particular of the vibrant faith which so many of you possess, the deep sense of family life and all those other values which you have inherited. By contributing your gifts, you will not only find your place here, you will help to renew society from within."

I am myself an immigrant though I suppose a privileged one. I have not had a hardscrabble life in America.

At the end of his speech, someone yells out that the Pope is the anti-Christ, but the crowds boo him. There is no violence. Another woman screams that Jesus was a Jew and the disciples were Jews ...and Jesus wasn't a Catholic. She is ignored. A raft of fundamentalist preachers with microphones are trying to say the Pope is the anti-Christ and they should believe in Jesus, repent of their sins, and join whatever fellowship they belong to. I am all too familiar with these people. They are not evil. They are well-intentioned, believe in the purity of the gospel, and mostly ex-Catholics who have found a personal faith in Jesus Christ. They are not to be scorned, and free speech allows them to make their stand. I doubt they made any converts today.

I later talk to a hardened Irish Catholic lady who said she had not cried this much in 77 years. She said three of her closest friends, all Jews, had flown up from Florida just to see the Pope, they were impressed by his humility. They openly cried as they heard him speak.

Earlier in the day the Pope celebrated mass at the Basilica and spent a number of hours with seminarians. His focus has nearly always been on children the sick, women and his clergy.

After the Pope spoke, he led the more than half million people present in saying the Lord's Prayer. People were crying everywhere; then he asked us to pray for him and then he blessed everyone. It was a day to remember. I doubt I will ever see anything like this again in my lifetime.

CORRECTION: I said Governor Wolf is a Jew. This is incorrect. He is an Episcopalian. I also said Mayor Nutter was a Catholic. He is an ex-Catholic and is now a Baptist.