Papal visit prompts football schedule shift

This fall, Penn football will have to reschedule its plans to throw Hail Marys in order to make time for ... Hail Marys.

As many Philadelphians are aware, the Pope is scheduled to visit the City of Brotherly Love over the weekend of Sept. 26-27. Consequently, the Quakers’ previously scheduled matchup with Villanova has been moved from the Saturday the 26th to Thursday the 24th.

Pope Francis, the leader of the world’s Catholics, will be making his first visit to the United States in Philadelphia over those two days to address the World Meeting of Families, an international Catholic conference held every three years. During his time in Philadelphia, the man formerly known as Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio will meet with religious leaders, visit with inmates at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility and hold a massive Sunday Mass on the Ben Franklin Parkway.

The crowds for the Papal visit are expected to be enormous — city officials have said they expect up to two million visitors — and transportation in and around the city is expected to be clogged up. Accordingly, Penn and Villanova officials determined that the longstanding Big 5 showdown would be best played a few days early.

The game will be the Quakers’ second of the season, following their Sept. 19 matchup with Lehigh. The last time the Red and Blue played on a Thursday night was over a decade ago, when they faced off against the very same Wildcats on Oct. 10, 2002. The Quakers fell in that contest, 17-3.

The earlier gameday means that Penn will have extra time to get ready for their first Ivy opponent; The Red and Blue will now have a full 10 days to prepare for their Oct. 3 contest versus Dartmouth, a game that will also serve as the Quaker’s first home game of the season.

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