World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 Launches Official Retail Website Featuring More Than 200 Items of Event Merchandise

Philadelphia, PA (July 1, 2015) – The World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 today launched its official retail website, shop.worldmeeting2015.org, featuring more than 200 products commemorating the Eighth World Meeting of Families and the visit of Pope Francis, which are available for purchase now.

Designed and produced in partnership with Aramark, the official retail vendor of event merchandise for the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015 and Papal Visit, which will be held September 22 – 27, 2015, products range from traditional branded merchandise including t-shirts, knit scarves, keychains, and coffee mugs, to Pope Francis and faith-based merchandise, including rosaries, holy medals, pectoral crosses and the worldwide favorite life-sized cut-out of the Holy Father. A Pope Francis bobble-head has also been developed.

The launch of the official website follows the announcement of the Papal Itinerary detailing the Holy Father’s Apostolic Journey to the United States, including his schedule for Philadelphia on September 26 – 27, 2015.

“In less than three months, Philadelphia will welcome visitors from around the globe to share in this once-in-a-lifetime experience. We are delighted to offer such outstanding commemorative memorabilia as tangible reminders of these historic events,” said Lizanne Pando, Director of Marketing and Communications of the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia 2015.

A full array of products is now available for purchase at shop.worldmeeting2015.org, with new products being added in the coming weeks. Additional products will also be available at select retail locations inside the Pennsylvania Convention Center (September 22 – 25) and on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway (September 26 – 27) during the week of the 2015 Congress and Papal Visit.

Additional inquiries about retail products can be directed to [email protected].

Co-sponsored by the Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family and the Archdiocese of Philadelphia, the World Meeting of Families is a triennial global event that seeks to strengthen the sacred bonds of family across the globe and highlight its intrinsic value to the good of society. The 2015 international gathering will be held in the United States for the first time ever and will welcome Pope Francis to the country for the first time in his Papacy.

For more information regarding the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, visit www.WorldMeeting2015.org. For more information regarding Aramark and its outstanding lines of professional services around the world, please visit www.aramark.com. For information regarding The Holy See’s Pontifical Council for the Family, please visit www.familiam.org/famiglia_eng/00002554_HOME_ENG.html. You can also engage the World Meeting of Families – Philadelphia on Facebook (World Meeting of Families 2015) (Encuentro Mundial de las Familias – Filadelfia 2015), Twitter (@WMF2015) (@WMF2015ES) and Instagram (WMF2015).

About World Meetings of Families
Beginning with 1994, The Year of the Family, the Pontifical Council for the Family has been responsible for organizing the World Meetings of Families in Rome (1994); Rio de Janeiro (1997); Rome (2000); Manila (2003); Valencia (2006); Mexico City (2009); Milan (2012); and now, Philadelphia (2015). Since its inception by Saint John Paul II, the World Meeting of Families has sought to strengthen the sacred bonds of family across the globe.

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Contact
Kenneth A. Gavin
Director of Communications
215-587-3747