Nuns Prepare 100,000 Communion Wafers for Philly Papal Visit
Leah Jessen /
Preparation for mass during a papal visit takes water, flour, and the dedication of a group of Pennsylvania nuns hard at work in the kitchen.
Pope Francis will spend Saturday and Sunday in Philadelphia.
Pope Francis sends a special message to Philadelphia – I’ll Be There because you’ll be there! #popeinphilly #wmf2015 https://t.co/pR22C28yUW
— World Meeting 2015 (@WMF2015) September 21, 2015
To prepare for his visit to Philly, 13 nuns at the Monastery of St. Clare in Langhorne, Pennsylvania, have the job to make 100,000 communion wafers, only part of the amount of wafers needed for the pope’s visit at an outdoor mass to be held on Sept. 27.
“We were very happy to provide breads for the mass, but we had to increase our production rates,” Sister Jean Therese told The Guardian.
The sisters put in extra shifts for two months to prepare for this request to help out Philadelphia church officials, reports the Associated Press.
“It’s a very special product,” Sister Ann told Inside Edition.
To get behind-the-scenes footage in the kitchen, Inside Edition took a film crew to see the production process.
The sisters mix and pour the batter onto a special stove where the batter is made into thin sheets. After the sheets cool, they are placed in a humidifier before a stamping machine is used to cut out round wafers. Wafers are then packaged and ready for communion.
Sister Anne Bartol told the Associated Press, “[W]e take very good care—extra care—with how we make [the communion wafers].”
All ready for the pope to come, the sisters completed and have fulfilled the request to make the wafers.
The sisters typically make 125,000 communion wafers to sell each month. The money is used to bring in an income for the monastery.
According to the Associated Press, they have about 200 customers across the United States and Canada.
Some of the St. Clare nuns will attend the mass—a rare journey away from the monastery, that requires special permission from the archbishop of Philadelphia.
Known as Poor Clares, the sisters are “contemplative nuns that live a life of prayer, community and joy.”
Mass will be held at Benjamin Franklin Parkway for the World Meeting of Families and will be the pope’s final public appearance before heading back to Rome.
“I believe [Pope Francis] will have words of wisdom and encouragement for the people of this country,” Sister Jean Therese told The Guardian. “He is a very caring and loving pope, and many people will be touched and inspired by his presence.”
She also told the Associated Press:
“We’re very much looking forward to being there, to seeing [Pope Francis] in person, and to being together with everyone.”
Up 1.5 million people are expected to attend the mass, and 500,000 people are expected to take communion.
Pope Francis has already been to the White House and Capitol Hill on his first trip to the United States. Twitter even unveiled four emojis to accompany social media hashtags as people follow the pope’s journey in Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia.