Pope to use Lincoln's Gettysburg lectern in Philadelphia
When Pope Francis delivers his address at Independence Hall next month, he will stand behind a nondescript lectern of dark walnut, largely unused since it was placed in a cemetery in Gettysburg on Nov. 19, 1863. There, President Abraham Lincoln gripped its softly curved sides and etched into the history books, "Four score and seven years ago. . . ."
Amid the hustle of big-picture logistics and intense plans for Francis' visit to Philadelphia Sept. 26 and 27 is the chest-high lectern that will link the Gettysburg Address to the pope's widely anticipated speech on religious freedom and immigration.
Privately owned and on loan to the Union League of Philadelphia, the lectern will be moved to Independence Hall for the pope's speech that Saturday. Only the pope and Archbishop Charles J. Chaput will speak from it, before about 35,000 people on Independence Mall - and thousands more watching on...