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Pope Francis Addresses the Festival of Families. Aired 9-10p ET

Aired September 26, 2015 - 21:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.

[21:00:00]

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- the resignation of the Speaker of the House, third in line to the presidency, has been a story. But all eyes are still on Pope Francis.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Yes.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: His magnetism, his charisma and his leadership are consuming the minds and the passions of our nation. It's very powerful. It's very consoling.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think, Father, that's such an important point as the clock strikes 9:00 pm Eastern here and Pope Francis stands up, once again, to greet one of the speakers, one of the families there, as he has for every family that has spoken. This is the family from the United States, we are told.

CHRIS CUOMO, CNN ANCHOR: And you saw the pope hustle out of his chair. He saw that this older woman was moving slowly toward him. He literally hopped out of his chair and hustled down to them, as tired as he is, with the sciatica. He is motivated by people in need. He wants them to know that he puts them first. And it's just another demonstration of it.

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: And this is Leona and Rudy Gonzales (ph) and more of their extended family surrounding them.

To be a fly on the wall and to be able to hear what he is saying to them, a moment that they will only know personally and cherish.

But to you, Father, I am very encouraged about the fact that so many people have been engaged in his visit from when he landed in Havana, Cuba, where Chris was, to his entire week here in the United States.

I think many people become -- well, they think only, "if it bleeds, it leads." And if it's bad or controversial news or infighting and politics, that's what captures the attention of the nation but this unity and this positivity has captured the attention of the nation.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Absolutely. You know, he has said it repeatedly in a number of addresses, it's unity, not uniformity. And we each bring our own gifts, our own contributions and he welcomes all of those contributions. He is counter cultural. We know that he's said some things that don't sit well with everyone

and he challenges us uniquely but we seem to almost want the challenge from him, we want that call to be a better person.

CUOMO: Well, look, you have a combination of things that we've witnessed in this visit from Francis to the Americas. And that's how he sees it, America as a continent, which was one of the introductory lessons that we got on this that might have been a surprise to some. You have the man, you have the moment and you have the message.

And the man is Francis. He's special, certainly to Catholics and somewhat beyond because he's introduced a new face of the Catholic Church to the rest of the world which is, we are not so much about what not to do. I want to talk about what to do.

And then you have a moment in time in our political culture that is so divisive and negative, even for us. And then you have a message which is simple and means something to everyone. In fact, we're hearing a manifestation of the message right now from another family. Let's listen in.

MARIO SCICCHITANO, ARGENTINIAN NATIVE (through translator): We could hear chaos on the streets and, immediately following the ceremony, my new wife and I and our terrified guests fled to our homes on that day, as we have done every day in the 60 years since we placed our trust in God.

And somehow we knew then, as we know now, that God would guide us to safety.

Five years later, we, along with our young children, Maria and Alberto, left the community that we love so much in Buenos Aires and emigrated to Montreal, Quebec, in Canada, in search of a better life.

The move presented many challenges. My wife and I did not speak English or French. We struggled financially and work was scarce. Adapting to a new culture and a new way of life often seemed like an overwhelming endeavor.

But once again, we turned to our faith; our parish church welcomed us and became an integral part of our daily lives, serving as a source of comfort through many difficult times and as a place of celebration. Eventually, with lots of patience, love and God's mercy, we built the better life that we sought.

In 1968 --

[21:05:00]

SCICCHITANO (through translator): -- our family, which now included our youngest child, Sylvia, once again emigrated, this time to the United States. We immediately enrolled our children in Catholic schools to reinforce the guiding principles that we tried to teach at home.

And it is those guiding principles which began with an unwavering faith in God that helped our family to cope with life -- life's challenges and tragedies.

Health scares, an addiction to gambling and the untimely loss of our son in 2013 are just a few of the crises that we have survived as a family in recent years. Many days and sleepless nights have been spent praying to God for guidance.

However, we have also been fortunate to experience many joys, such as the birth of our beautiful granddaughter. We thank God every day for the wonder that she brings to our lives.

As my wife and I celebrate our 60 years of marriage, we often think about our long life journey together. We've traveled many rocky roads and the obstacles sometimes seemed insurmountable.

However, we always tried to meet whatever tests of faith were presented to us and are proud to say that our greatest accomplishment is to have raised a strong, loving Catholic family.

And today, as in every day past, and in the future, we look to God for guidance and we are firm in our belief that he will bring us to safety. Thank you, Holy Father, please pray for those who are alone, unsupported by family and especially those who do not have an understanding of God's love and continuous care for them.

(APPLAUSE)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: So here you see Pope Francis greeting this family, the sixth and final family to speak. Also very close to his heart, I would assume, because they are from his native Argentina, Mario and Rosa --

(CROSSTALK)

CUOMO: Scicchitano. And not only are they from Argentina but their immigrant experience and what they were describing, they might as well have been named Bergoglio, the family, as with all greatness within the Catholic Church, he is, of course, Italian descent.

(LAUGHTER)

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: Also, this couple married for 60 years.

CUOMO: Yes. And you know what, that is something to always be celebrated. I know in my family, it's what my parents were proud of, before the kids even, was their 60-year union.

Again, though, we hear this message -- of course, the pope's face lit up. They are from his home country.

But now here he comes to address the crowd. Let's hear what Pope Francis has to say. We'll listen in, of course.

(APPLAUSE) POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Dear brothers and sisters, dear families, thank you, thank you to those who are willing to give their testimony, thank you to those who gladdened us with your art, with the beauty --

[21:10:00]

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): -- which is the path to reach God. Beauty leads us to God. And a true witness takes us to God because God also is truth. Beauty and truth. And a witness, in order to serve, is thoroughly good. It makes us good persons because God is goodness, he takes us to God. All that is good, all that is true, all that is beautiful leads us to God --

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): -- because God is good. God is beautiful. God is true. Thank you all, those who have offered their witness and for the presence of all of you, that is also a great witness, a real witness that is worth being a family.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): That society is strong. It's solid if it's edified on beauty, goodness and truth.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Once a child asked me -- you know that kids ask difficult questions.

He asked me, "Father, what did God do before creating the world?"

I assure you, I found real difficulty to answer the question.

(LAUGHTER)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): So I said what I am now going to say to you. Before creating the world, God loved, because God is love --

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): -- and so much love, Father, Son and Holy Spirit, it was so overflowing. I don't know if it's very logical, but you'll understand, He was so big, He was so big this love, that God could not be -- it had to be poured out of Him so as to share that love with those out of Himself.

And then God created the world. God made this marvelous world which we live in. And because sometimes we're a bit confused, we are destroying it. But the most beautiful thing that God did, said the Bible, was the family.

(APPLAUSE)

[21:15:00]

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Man created woman and He gave them everything. He gave them the world that they may grow, multiply, cultivate the land, multiply and grow. All that love that He made in creation, He gave it shared it and bestowed it be upon a family.

Let us go back further. All the love God -- all the love that God has in Himself, all the beauty that He has in Himself, He gives to the family. And family is really family when it is able to open its arms and receive all that love.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Of course -- of course, it's not quite earthly paradise. There are still problems. Men and women, through the astuteness of the devil, have learned, unfortunately, how to divide themselves. And all that love that God gave almost was lost.

In a little period of time, the first crime, the first instance a fratricide, a brother kills another brother and war. Love, beauty and truth of God and destruction and war. And between those we walk ahead. It's up to us to choose. It's up to us to decide which path we want to take forward.

Let's go back. When man and his wife made mistakes, God did not abandon them. So great was His love that He began to walk with humanity, with his people, until the right moment came and He made the highest expression of love, His own son.

And where did He send his son?

To a palace?

To a city?

No. He sent him to a family. God sent him and made a family, in a family.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): And He could do this because it was a family that had a truly open heart. The doors of their heart opened.

[21:20:00]

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): But Mary, she couldn't believe it.

How can this happen?

But when they explained it to her, the angel explained it, she agreed. He finds himself in the surprising situation that he doesn't understand and he accepts. And in obedience, he loved this woman, he loved this man, Joseph, Mary and Joseph. There is a family in which Jesus is born. God plans so that our hearts be open. He likes to bring his love to

open hearts. It comes out from Him.

You know what he likes most?

To knock on the doors of families and to find families who love each other, families who bring up their children to grow and help them move forward, who create and develop a society of truth, goodness and beauty.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): We are celebrating the feast of the family.

Families have a citizenship which is divine. The identity card that they have is given to them by God so that, within the heart of the family, truth, goodness and beauty can truly grow.

Some of you might say, of course, Father, you speak like that because you're not married.

(LAUGHTER)

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Families have the difficulties. Families, we quarrel and sometimes plates can fly.

(LAUGHTER)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): And children bring headaches.

I won't speak about mother-in-laws.

(LAUGHTER)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): But in families, there is always light because the love of God, the son of God opened also that part of us.

But just as there are problems in families, we have to remember that there is the light of the resurrection afterwards because the son of God (INAUDIBLE).

But I have to say that the family is like a factory of hope. It's a factory of resurrection. God opened this part, this possibility. And children, yes, they bring their challenges.

[21:25:00]

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): And we also are the cause of work and worry.

Sometimes at home I see some of my helpers, they come to work and they look tired and have a 1-month-old child, baby. And I ask them, "Did you sleep?"

And they say, "I couldn't sleep, Holiness, because they were crying all night."

In the family, there are indeed difficulties. But those difficulties are overcome with love. Hatred is not capable of dealing with any difficulty and overcoming any difficulty. Division of hearts cannot overcome any difficulty. Only love, only love is able to overcome.

Love is about celebration. Love is joy. Love is moving forward. I don't speak too much, because it will be late, but I would like just to offer two points about the family, to take special care, some things that we really do have to take care of: the children and grandparents.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Children, whether young or older, they are the future, the strength that moves us forward. We place our hope in them.

Grandparents are the living memory of the family. They pass on their faith. They transmitted the faith to us. To look after grandparents, to look after children is expression of love. It promises the future that doesn't know how to look after their children and the people that knows not how to look after grandparents is a people that has no future because it doesn't have strength or the memory to go forward.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Family is beautiful. But there is effort involved and there are problems. In families, there are inimical relationships. Husbands and wives quarrel, can end up badly, separated. Never let the day end without making peace.

[21:30:00]

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): You can't finish the day off not being in peace. May God bless you. May God give you hope. Let us look after the family, protect the family because it's in the family that our future is placed.

Thank you. God bless you all and please pray for me.

CUOMO (voice-over): Objectively, whether you're Catholic, Christian, whether you believe or do you not, the response to this speech is only one word: wow. That is the Bergoglio, a cardinal wanted for pope not once, but twice, what made him a legend in Argentina. That is the passion and the delivery, Poppy, that everybody knows this man to have.

POPPY HARLOW, CNNMONEY.COM CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): No question about it. Not one person in their seats. That was a message of love and a message of light, saying, before God created the world, he loved. Only love is able to overcome. Let's listen to this crowd. UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Your Holiness, for everyone here this evening and for everyone watching or listening to this festival from a distance, tonight has been a special moment in time. We will never forget it and we will never duplicate it because each of us on this parkway is unique and unrepeatable.

Every one of the persons here among us is a miracle of God's love made for the glory of heaven and so each of us is wonderful, as are our families.

We have a final present before you leave us this evening.

Philadelphia is a city of murals and we couldn't imagine a better way to commemorate your visit than with a mural. We've been working on it all summer. Paint days have taken place all across the region, at children's hospitals --

CUOMO (voice-over): Bruce, tell us what the cardinal is talking about right now. This is special. You know especially about it.

What is he talking about?

BRUCE (voice-over): I know a lot about this and it's a really wonderful moment. It's the city of Philadelphia has a mural arts program. There are 4,000 murals, the most in any city on Earth. And each mural is painted collectively by the community.

They have 2,700 people have participated in painting this mural over the course of the summer. Yesterday it was certified as a Guinness world record.

The principal artist was a former oil rig -- there we go. This is some images of it. It's called "Faith in Action, Sacred Families."

I think, if I've got that correct, the principal muralist is a former Mexican oil rig diver who became a U.S. citizen this summer and they have saved the final panel for the pope to sign and they are going to bring a 15' x 3' panel right now to the pope. You can see it there. It's coming to the stage.

HARLOW (voice-over): Wow.

BRUCE (voice-over): The pope is going to affix his signature. And that is a little girl with Down syndrome. And they have specifically selected it because of the pope's sensitivity and outreach to people who are hurting or suffering in some way. We've seen it repeatedly, Chris and Poppy, even today.

HARLOW (voice-over): Those most in need.

BRUCE (voice-over): Exactly.

HARLOW (voice-over): Would you say, Bruce, by low (ph), that this is the moment of the trip, at least inspirational?

BRUCE (voice-over): I think absolutely. By that we're talking about the speech that he just gave and I think Chris Cuomo put it absolutely well. I began this week saying that there's two ways to lead a church of this size. You can build walls or you can build bridges.

We came off of Benedict and he was a man of walls. This is the doctrine, this is who we are, the great theologian of his time.

And after him, the church said, we need to change. We need bridges to the people. Just to reiterate, in case people didn't see what we had had on the screen while he was talking, he had a beautifully written two-page speech that they distributed to the press.

HARLOW (voice-over): Which we read.

BRUCE (voice-over): We all read.

And it was exquisitely -- it was beautiful, actually, about love and families.

CUOMO (voice-over): -- like that, nothing like what we just heard.

BRUCE (voice-over): He knew this crowd did not want that talk. He threw it out in its entirely and he gave that electrifying speech about love. He built a bridge to this crowd and, to my mind, it was the moment of the week.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- will be a lasting testament to the real meaning of families and your visit --

BRUCE (voice-over): This is arvay barros (ph).

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- and all of us here tonight, we thank you and we say together, God bless Pope Francis!

(APPLAUSE)

CUOMO (voice-over): The mural is a beautiful moment but let's not lose what really is the shock of the night, which is the introduction to the American audience to a man who is a legend in South America. Not Pope Francis --

[21:35:00]

CUOMO (voice-over): -- Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio.

What did you see, Father Beck (ph), that you told me about at the conclave years ago about why you liked Bergoglio?

FATHER BECK (PH): Well, when they set him free like that and what it shows is that the Vatican shouldn't spend so much time probably crafting speeches because he's better on his own. He gets more excited, he's more expressive. You want to listen to him more. He doesn't want to keep his head in the text.

And what you got tonight, whether you know it or not, was the best of Catholic theology about marriage, incarnation of theology. God is love. And the one who abides in love abides in God. We say that marriage is a sacrament because the way you love each other expresses God's love to us and this is what it is.

HARLOW (voice-over): Let's watch as the pope and the rest of us will all listen to an extraordinary voice, an extraordinary man, Andrea Bocelli.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: -- Catholic faith, his charity, The Bocelli Foundation is committed to empowering people and communities in situations of poverty, illiteracy, distress due to illness and social exclusion.

Now please welcome the phenomenal Andrea Bocelli, here to perform "The Lord's Prayer," with the Philadelphia Orchestra directed by Eugene Khan (ph) and the Philadelphia Heritage Chorale (ph) under the musical direction of Jay Donald Dumpson (ph).

(MUSIC PLAYING)

[21:40:00]

(MUSIC PLAYING)

(APPLAUSE)

HARLOW (voice-over): I think, for the first time tonight, Chris and I are speechless. That was magnificent.

CUOMO (voice-over): It was a beautiful accent to the speech that we heard from Pope Francis, the message of the simple beauty of faith, of love as the pathway to God and then you hear "The Lord's Prayer," sung with such beauty and passion and here comes Pope Francis now.

HARLOW (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) him and his wife.

CUOMO (voice-over): To embrace this beautiful performer, Andrea Bocelli.

HARLOW (voice-over): Certainly the first time I have ever seen him sing "The Lord's Prayer," I think for you as well.

CUOMO (voice-over): Right -- and in English, not something he does that often.

Now, let's take this moment to get back to what really will be the shock to the system for so many Americans, who have already been impressed, Father Beck (ph), with -- actually, let's go to Father (INAUDIBLE) because we haven't gotten you -- I heard -- we couldn't see you because you're down there in D.C., but we heard that you were really brought up out of your chair by the pope's speech.

This is the passionate Bergoglio, the passionate Pope Francis that everyone in that conclave, once they came together, felt they needed to help change their way.

What was your take?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Well, you know, we've been looking at people describe and tweet the three words they would use to describe Pope Francis. And in his homily, he described the three words he would use for God. God is good. God is beauty. God is truth.

What he really did was deflect the attention away from himself and remind us that it's all about God.

Remember that in the meetings that preceded the conclave, he was the one who said to the cardinals, we can't look at the church like it is the light. The church reflects the light of Christ.

So that's what he continually does. He takes the attention away from himself and says, it's Jesus. It's Christ. He did that masterfully tonight.

CUOMO (voice-over): Father Conseci (ph), the pope's back at the lectern . We know that he was going to do a final blessing but let's see what brought him up here.

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): We will now receive the blessing and we'll see each other tomorrow at mass.

What time is mass tomorrow, Archbishop?

(LAUGHTER)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: At 4 o'clock.

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): At 4 o'clock.

Before the final blessing, let's pray a prayer to Mary and also in invocation to St. Joseph, so that they can protect our families and they can help us to believe that it's worth the struggle and the fight for the good of the family.

(APPLAUSE)

POPE FRANCIS (through translator): Hail, Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee. Blessed art thou amongst women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus. Holy Mary, mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at our death, amen. Pray for us. Pray for us. Pray for us.

[21:45:00]

POPE FRANCIS: Thank you until tomorrow.

(APPLAUSE)

CUOMO (voice-over): Here, another amazing gathering of people. Once again, captivated and won over by the man and the message that is Pope Francis.

And wouldn't it be wonderful if he was able to say mass for Catholics every Sunday here in America?

Father Beck (ph), at the conclave, you made the point of saying that Jorge Bergoglio was someone that was very impressive because of the authentic passion that he brings to traditional pastoring, not playing hot politics in the Vatican but what people need most.

What did you see tonight that echoed that?

BECK (PH) (voice-over): Well, he did it once again.

Remember at the Vatican and at the conclave, what he did was he challenged the hierarchy. That's what got him elected. He told them that they had to totally be not a referential church but go outside of the structure, outside of the institution. And you would think, well, we're not going to elect that guy.

And they turned and elected him. Obviously they saw the spirit working in what he was saying, when he gets let loose again like tonight, the spirit works in him and once again I think that they should just let him loose a little bit more. Maybe they are afraid of what he says sometimes, but what he always says is of God and of the spirit. I think that was evident tonight.

CUOMO (voice-over): You're much older than I am but do you remember any other pope who has ever been this openly charismatic in delivery?

I mean, Pope John Paul, I was alive for that. He was charismatic; not like this.

BECK (PH) (voice-over): I think it was John XXIII and it really was before our time. I mean, I was born; you weren't. John XXIII had same kind of Italian gregariousness, that warmth, that smile. People wanted to touch him when he went out. I think John XXIII would have been the last one with this kind of a personality.

HARLOW (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE) we have heard so much ahead of this trip during this trip about the tone of this pope being so different and depending on who was dissecting his words, you may say he's changing the message of the church or the practice of the church. Tonight you really heard sort of the classic, classic Catholic Church, that fighting for the family is worth it. Only love can overcome; in family there is light, hearkening to the resurrection.

What does tonight mean for all of the people of the faith and those who have left the faith?

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think the Catholic Church, we live in a time where we're not just going to take the faith that our parents give us. We may -- even if you're Catholic, a cradle Catholic, you still have to be a Catholic by choice. And I think that what he's doing is trying to give people a reason to reach out.

What was striking to me, Poppy and Chris, in the prepared text he talked about Adam and Eve as that classic family. In the impromptu speech he gave, he talked about Cain and Abel and he talked about that moment. It could have been a moment of disruption in the first family and how they overcame it, because that's the true --

HARLOW (voice-over): How they overcame murder. UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): -- how they overcame murder and how Adam and Eve stayed together. To me, that's one of the defining moments of that story -- I'm actually writing a book about this story so I'm quite passionate about it because it goes back to what, Chris, you've been saying all night, which is his natural instinct is to reach to the person or the couple in pain.

We saw one of the families tonight who suffered loss. That's who he is. So I'm going back to my pope in three words, not me, you. Even if you're suffering, come back. We can help heal you.

CUOMO (voice-over): Rosa Flores, you've been with the people all night.

What was the reaction to the words and the passion of their pope, Pope Francis?

ROSA FLORES, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): You know, I've got to tell you, one of my favorite moments is when Pope Francis pops jokes because that really shows his character, his smile, his wit and everybody out here just really loved it. He said, you know, I'm saying all of these beautiful things about families and you're probably thinking, it's because I'm (INAUDIBLE), which means I'm single and the crowd just started laughing.

And then he said, oh, and I'm not even going to go into (INAUDIBLE), with the mother-in-law. So it's just these tiny little moments that he connects so well with people because he identifies with chat like that. Everyone does because we all have families and we all joke about our families and even poke a little bit about mother-in-laws.

But I want to set the scene for you here because a lot of these folks are already heading home. The last count that we got, unofficial, but from a police officer that was -- that's on scene. He said it may be 250,000 to 300,000 people on estimate. We'll get the official numbers later. But they are starting to disperse and --

[21:50:00]

FLORES: -- starting to head out, their hearts filled with emotion and faith as they saw the Holy Father, first of all, on the Popemobile and then you saw the emotion, the electricity in the air as Pope Francis rode in his Popemobile and waved and blessed everyone who was along this route looking at Pope Francis.

And then again, I talked to a lot of these folks and they were so excited for zapapi (ph). It was a moment of a lifetime. People came from all over the country and all over the world, quite frankly, because they couldn't wait to just set their eyes on the Holy Father, to be able to be in the same space with him, to share a little space and a little moment with the pope, a pope of the people, a pope of mercy.

CUOMO (voice-over): Well, he certainly showed that tonight. They got a lot more than a look at him. They are leaving and the question is not only what they went home to see but what they carried home in their hearts and in their heads -- Poppy.

HARLOW (voice-over): Absolutely. We are going to take a quick break, much more live coverage from Philadelphia. What a night, the pope totally going off script and what a reception he got. We'll be right back.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

(MUSIC PLAYING)

HARLOW (voice-over): This night is far from over as --

[21:55:00]

HARLOW (voice-over): -- Philadelphia celebrates the pontiff. You are listened to renowned Colombia singer, Juanes. Let's listen in for a moment.

(MUSIC PLAYING)

CUOMO (voice-over): So as we get to listen to Juanes and enjoy his music, let's talk about something else we enjoyed, Father Rosica.

How proud are you of your pope tonight?

I know pride in this context is not something that the Catholics usually express but to hear him with that passion and convey that message, that's the Bergoglio that won over the conflict.

ROSICA (voice-over): He wasn't off script. He was on script. This is Bergoglio. This is the pastor. The first thing -- the minute I saw him go over to the podium I said, uh-oh. This is what he does best. He's a pastor and the first thought that came to my mind was papemos papa (ph). This is a pastor. This is why the cardinals elected him. This is what the church needed.

But even more so, this is what the world needs. The other thing that came to my mind, Chris, and I'm glad you asked, watching him tonight, watching him up close a lot of times, I'm a professor of scripture. I, myself, I studied five years in the Holy Land and I often wondered when I was in Galilee, what was it like when Jesus taught?

How did he rally those crowds?

Why did they come to listen?

Why were they enraptured with what he said?

And I've wondered that for a long time. I had to come to Philadelphia to see. Tonight I saw it. I'm sure that I saw it.

HARLOW (voice-over): Delia, to you. There was -- he mixed his passion, his love, at moments brought everyone to tears with his humor and his ability to connect through humor.

And at one point he said, you know, children ask me difficult questions. One of them is, what did God do before he created the Earth? That is a difficult one to answer.

And then he said, "God loved."

God loved. And that's what tonight was about.

DELIA GALLAGHER, CNN VATICAN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): Yes, and he connected really well, I think, on the theme of the family, when he said, you know, I know sometimes children are a headache, as not to mention mother-in-laws. He's very good at that. That's the direct connection that he makes.

And what struck me listening to him is, before Francis, we often talked about people who were seekers, who didn't have a model in the world, you know, young kids looking up to pop stars or people in general, just looking for some kind of direction.

And I think that he's given the United States that and possibly also the world a place to turn your head and look and listen. Seems to me he's filled that vacuum.

CUOMO (voice-over): I didn't understand what he was talking about with the mother-in-law. That makes no sense. I love my mother-in- law.

HARLOW (voice-over): We know you do.

(CROSSTALK)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Not a problem with Italian mother-in- laws.

CUOMO (voice-over): (INAUDIBLE). And they're all --

UNIDENTIFIED MALE (voice-over): Another thing that happened tonight, for those Catholics around the world who are saying, he's not talking enough about family, he's not talking enough about marriage, he's not talking enough about abortion, he's not talking enough, put it to rest, folks.

And for those who are worried about what is going to happen next week at the Senate of Bishops, these sounds of fear and these alarm bells, the pope is with us. He's here solidly rooted in the church but he's got a heart of mercy and he understands the messes of life and he wants love to prevail.

So I tell all of those Catholics and their subgroups and their lobby groups, be quiet and listen. A pastor is in our midst and we better follow what he's showing us tonight. The synod will be a chance to bless everything he said tonight and even more.

HARLOW (voice-over): I think the biggest applause he got tonight in those remarks was near the beginning, actually, Delia, when he said, basically I am here to show you the family is worth fighting for.

CUOMO (voice-over): And talked about the church, Delia. He never --

HARLOW (voice-over): You're right.

CUOMO (voice-over): Pope Benedict talked about the church, about it as a formative structure.

It seems to me, for Pope Francis, the formative structure is the family.

GALLAGHER (voice-over): Yes. He said, you know, God came into the world through the family. Jesus came in through Mary and Joseph. That was his final prayer tonight. That was the model that he wants people to remember and he did it directly to all of these American families.

HARLOW (voice-over): What a night it's been celebrated with so much beautiful love, so much art, so much music.

Delia Gallagher, thank you.

Father Rosica, thank you.

To everyone who has been with us, to all of you who have been with us for hours and hours, thank you.

What a remarkable evening, Chris.

CUOMO (voice-over): Listen, it's been a privilege to be here as a witness to history and to hear that message. I hope I can put it into action in my own life as so many others do.

Poppy, it's a pleasure to be with you.

Father, Delia, thank you for being part of CNN's special coverage.

What a night.

We'll go out on the words of Juanes. He's singing just like Pope Francis did and touching the hearts of everyone who hears it.

HARLOW (voice-over): Again, from all of us in Philadelphia, God bless.

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