Pope Francis’s arrival on the East Coast next week is expected to cause some delays in the mails, mostly in Philadelphia, according to an industry alert issued to mailers by the U.S. Postal Service.
The Philadelphia visit spanning September 25-27 has been declared a national security event, akin to a Super Bowl. The cordoning off of large sections of the downtown area will restrict the ability of USPS to make deliveries on those dates.
On Thursday the 24th, collection boxes in affected areas will be removed and locked. On Friday the 25th, the Philadelphia Main Office, the William Penn Delivery Annex, and the Fairmount and Spring Garden Stations will have carriers complete deliveries by 1 p.m. No delivery or collection of mail will take place in these areas on Saturday or Sunday. Full operations will resume on Monday the 28th.
While the Philadelphia P&DC and Philadelphia NDC will remain open and operational, significant delays are expected along the I-95 corridor into Philadelphia during the Papal visit. Mailers that normally drop mail at these locations on Friday, Saturday, or Sunday are advised to drop their mail by Thursday to avoid delays.
No serious mail delays are expected by the Postal Service in New York and Washington, DC, where the Pope’s visits will be short in duration.
