Issue link: http://digital.copcomm.com/i/610353
68 P E R S P E C T I V E | N OV E M B E R / D E C E M B E R 2 0 1 5 The Papal visit to that city included three events: a visit to Independence Hall, a concert on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway and a mass the next day for the World Meeting of Families. The Independence Hall visit was fairly straightforward, a smaller set that required a baldacchino; the concert and mass were more complex. René explains, "The concert was a nighttime event. I didn't want the stage to have an over-the-top, rock & roll look, because I had to transform it into an appropriate setting for a mass. I had used the arch motif for The 3 Tenors in Paris and felt certain that its gentler shape would be just what was needed. I drew it up and never even considered a square stage." Since the venue needed to provide the setting for a mass, there were religious aspects that had to be considered. "There were certain elements to accommodate, such as the Papal procession. I didn't want to do an endless staircase, so I designed a pair of fifty-foot switchback ramps with Below: The first of Pope Francis' events in Philadelphia was a visit to Independence Hall. This is Mr. Lagler's rendering for the set elements installed in front of the national landmark. Bottom, left to right: Rather than designing a traditional square rock & roll trussed stage, Mr. Lagler writes that he was certain that an arch motif's "gentler shape would be just what was needed. I drew it up and never even considered a square stage." A photograph from behind the altar back shows some of the nearly one million people who showed up to hear the Pope celebrate mass.