PRAYERS OF THOUSANDS LEFT AT KNOTTED GROTTO IN FRONT OF THE BASILICA OF SAINTS PETER AND PAUL
PHILADELPHIA >> For all the hustle and bustle of a big city starting to explode with pilgrims, a hush had fallen over the outside of the Cathedral Basilica of Saints Peter and Paul in Philadelphia.
Just to the left of the main entrance, there is a little art installation which has grown in prayers − or little, white strips of cloth tied with prayers written on them.
Throughout the day during the World Meeting of Families, and even a few days before its kickoff, people have wandered into the area to write a personal plea, tie it onto the fence and then untie someone else’s and move it inside a wooden grotto.
From there, the person says a prayer for this stranger and reties the cloth.