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June 4, 2012

Large families find strength, grace at world meeting in Milan

Hendrikus and Paula Wong of Coogee, Australia, pose with their five children during the World Meeting of Families in Milan June 2. From left the children are Laura Philomena, 5 months, Madeleine, 14, Catherine, 5, Michael, 14, and Theodore, 12. Their trip to Milan was sponsored by the Archdiocese of Sydney.

MILAN (CNS) -- One thing the Tuncaps and the Wongs have in common, other than attending their first World Meeting of Families with five children each, is they've had a lot of people tell them they were crazy.

Paula Wong, 42, said that back home in Coogee, Australia, people at the supermarket often say "I'm so glad I'm not you!" as she pushes her cart with her tousle-haired kids.

Her husband Hendrikus, 45, said his relatives still can't understand why he would want so many children when his mother grew up poor in Jakarta in a family of 10.

Published in Vatican
June 4, 2012

Pope opens possibility of US visit, says faith builds strong families

Pope Benedict XVI is pictured during a meeting with priests and nuns in Milan's cathedral June 2. The pope was in Milan for the World Meeting of Families.

MILAN - As Pope Benedict XVI closed the World Meeting of Families in Italy's capital of finance and fashion, he opened the possibility of his heading to the United States when he named the Archdiocese of Philadelphia the next venue of the world gathering.

"God willing," he said, he would attend in 2015 as he greeted Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia and "the Catholics of that great city," saying he looked forward to meeting U.S. Catholics and other families from around the world there.

Published in Vatican
June 4, 2012

Philadelphia to host World Meeting of Families in 2015

Pope Benedict XVI greets Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia at the end of the closing Mass of the World Meeting of Families in Milan June 3. The Pope announced that the Archdiocese of Philadelphia will host the next World Meeting of Families in 2015.

MILAN - When the Archdiocese of Philadelphia hosts the United States' first World Meeting of Families in 2015, it will need to be a significantly smaller affair than the enormous gatherings seen since its inception in 1994, said the city's archbishop.

It is only with a reduced number of participants that "we could manage through special gifts and the like that people would be willing to give to support such a gathering," Archbishop Charles J. Chaput of Philadelphia told Catholic News Service shortly after Pope Benedict XVI's announcement.

Published in Vatican
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