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The two singers will headline separate performances on
Saturday, Sept. 26, when the pope visits the World Meeting of
Families' street festival, and in the run-up to a public Mass
said by the pontiff on Sunday, Sept. 27. The Mass is expected to
draw a crowd of more than 1.5 million people.
"It is indeed a blessing to sing in the presence of His Holiness
and to the attendees of the Festival of Families in the City of
Brotherly Love," said Franklin, who received a Grammy Lifetime
Achievement Award in 1994 for her contributions to popular music
in a recording career that began in the 1960s.
Franklin will sing at an open-air concert hosted by actor Mark
Wahlberg and featuring comedian Jim Gaffigan, world renowned
tenor Andrea Bocelli and the Philadelphia Orchestra along the
city's Benjamin Franklin Parkway.
Kearns will join a lineup of performers including the
Philadelphia Boys Choir and Chorale and soprano Margaret Keys
set to perform ahead of the Sunday Mass.
Pope Francis is also due to address a joint session of the U.S.
Congress in Washington and the United Nations in New York during
his first visit to the United States, which begins on Sept. 22
and ends Sept. 27 following the Philadelphia Mass.
(Reporting by Scott Malone in Boston; Editing by Will Dunham)
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