Parishioners Watch Pope Francis On Jumbotron At "Mass On The Grass"

BALTIMORE (WJZ) – Chairs and blankets covered the lawn at the Cathedral of Mary Our Queen in Baltimore as hundreds of parishioners got a chance to enjoy Pope Francis' last mass on his U.S. tour.

Gigi Barnett reports for WJZ.

As hundreds of catholic parishioners joined the millions in Philadelphia by jumbotron for the last and largest gathering of Pope Francis in the United States.

The lawn had "standing room" only.

"In my lifetime," said one parishioner, Bill Yurcik, "I've never seen the pope live in the United States. So this is the best I could do."

It wasn't a bad view of the pope for Yurcik, and was surrounded by those he knew.

"I think it actually might be better to see it here in Baltimore than to be crowded in Philadelphia with people I don't really know," said Dave Cuomo, another parishioner.

Before the pope, the service had a Ravens game lead in.

"I'm talking about the pope and I'm watching the Ravens, it's a religious challenge I've got going on here," he said.

"It's been a great week to be Catholic in the United States of America," he said.

The Baltimore archdiocese wanted to create this type of unity by hosting the outdoor mass to culminate an unforgettable papal visit.

"We wanted to be sure that we could mark this in some special way here and allow the opportunity for Catholics and non-Catholics to come together and watch," Baltimore archdiocese Monseigner Adam Parker, said.