5 Best Ways to Drink to Pope Francis in Philadelphia

By STEPHEN SILVER

When Pope Francis arrives in Philadelphia the weekend of Sept. 25, residents throughout the region will be drinking a toast to the visiting pontiff. And due to the proliferation of Pope Francis-themed regional microbrews and bar crawls, they won’t have any shortage of options as to how to do so.

Here are five liquid ways to celebrate the Pope’s visit:

1. Drink a special papal beer. Multiple area breweries- six, as of last count- are making special beers specifically for the Pope’s visit. There’s Philadelphia Brewing Company’s Holly Wooder, Cape May Brewing Co.’s You Only Pope Once (YOPO), 2nd Story Brewing Co.’s Pater Noster, Iron Hill Brewery’s Pap-Ale, Flying Fish Brewing Co’s Nope and Crime & Punishment’s Jesus Wept.

2. A Pope Pub Crawl. The Philadelphia Pope Crawl, set for the city on Sept. 26 and meant to benefit Philabundance, was much hyped throughout the summer, but an administrator said last month that the event may be canceled due to “logistical concerns.” However, the Narberth Pope Crawl is going ahead. Organized by the Narberth Business Association and safely far away from any security zones, the Narberth Crawl will be centered on Narberth’s “triangle” of bars- Great American Pub, The Greeks and McShea’s. Sales of $5 souvenir cups will benefit Narberth Community Food Bank.

3. Papal drink specials. Numerous local restaurants, according to Visit Philly, will be offering food and drink specials in conjunction with the Pope’s arrival. Brigantessa in South Philly will be offering both Italian beer specials and “Pope Hat Pasta” the weekend of the visit. Morgan’s Pier, on Columbus Blvd., will offer a “Popeapalooza,” with a dollar from every customer that weekend benefiting charities Francis Fund, Mil Mujeres and PennEnvironment. And McGillin’s Old Ale House in Center City will offer a Popetini.

4. Go to the POPE. Philadelphia has a bar called POPE- Pub on Passyunk East- and as expected the place is going all out to welcome Francis, including with an outdoor block party on the 26th and 27, in addition to their aforementioned beer.

5. Toast at Dirty Frank’s. The venerable South 13th Street tavern has long celebrated Frank Sinatra and other famous men named Frank or Francis on its wall, from Roosevelt to Rizzo to St. Francis of Assisi.Naturally, Pope Francis was added to the wall last month.

Francis, incidentally, cautioned young people to avoid alcohol and drug culture, during an address at St. Peter’s Basilica in 2013. The Pope told an audience of young Catholics that when people say “have a little alcohol, take a bit of drugs’. No. Go against this civilisation that is causing us so much harm.”