Amateur Radio Special Event Stations to Mark Pope’s US Visit

Pope Francis visits the USA Special Event

Event Information

Pope Francis visits the United States September 22 – 27 and amateur radio will be part of the celebration. Throughout the 5 day event (September 23 0000Z – September 27 0059Z) 6 special event amateur radio stations will be on the air to commemorate the event. Call signs from the Washington, DC area will be K3P andN4P. From New York and New Jersey the call will be K2P.W3FRC/WMF will be on the air from southeastern Pennsylvania and W3P will be on the air in Philadelphia.

WM3PEN, also of Philadelphia, will join in Thursday evening at 8 PM EST (Friday 0000 GMT).

Four unique qsl cards will be available along with a certificate to mark this special and historic event. A website is being established for QSL and certificate information. Early information and links can be found on the WM3PEN qrz.com website.

The Washington, DC operations are being coordinated by Jim Nitzberg, WX3B of the Potomac Valley Radio Club. The southeastern Pennsylvania and New Jersey operations are under the direction of Ron Sigismonti, N3RS of the Frankford Radio Club. The New York activity is being coordinated by John Melfi, W2HCB of the Great South Bay Amateur Radio Club. W3P efforts on the air are being coordinated by Joe Leone, KA3LKM. WM3PEN operations are being coordinated by Bob Josuweit, WA3PZO, and the Holmesburg Amateur Radio Club. Also visit our Facebook group.

We are privileged to be able to represent our region of the USA via Amateur Radio. Every three years there is a World Meeting of Families. In 2012 amateur radio operators in Italy had the call II2POPE on the air. This year amateur radio operators in 5 states will be on the air to commemorate the event. This year with the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia and the second time a Pope has visited Philadelphia, Ron Sigismonti, says having several special event stations on the air by members of a club that originated in Philadelphia, then expanded to encompass the entire region out to 175 miles of Philadelphia; another club whose members will be on the air in the same section of Philadelphia that the Pope is visiting; and another group of Philadelphia operators who are excited about the World Meeting of Families being held in the City will really make this a special event. Additionally, operations from the Greater Washington, D.C. metropolitan area, metropolitan New York City, and parts of New Jersey will encompass the entire region visited by Pope Francis in the United States. It will allow those who can’t be in the various cities that he is visiting to participate in this event by talking to those who are. In essence this will be a world family meeting of amateur radio operators.

The Pope arrives at Joint Base Andrews on September 22 and begins his visit in Washington, D.C. with a meeting with President Obama on Wednesday, September 23. He delivers a speech to a joint session of Congress on Thursday, September 24. On Friday he attends a meeting of the United Nations General Assembly in New York and participates in a multi-religious service at the 9/11 Memorial and Museum at the World Trade Center. On Saturday he gives a speech at Independence Hall in Philadelphia and concludes his visit to the U.S. with an outdoor mass in front of the Philadelphia Museum of Art on Sunday, September 27.