Ann Marie Oblas expected her faith to be strengthened after she made the pilgrimage to see Pope Francis in Philadelphia, and it was.

She didn't expect to find even more inspiration from the excitement it created for Catholics and non-Catholics alike.Oblas, of Andreas, a parochial school teacher, attended both Saturday and Sunday's events at the World Meeting of Families.Throughout the weekend and upon her return to St. Joseph Regional Academy in Jim Thorpe, she could detect a positive feeling from encounters with fellow Catholics also excited about the pope's visit.Of course the high points of the trip involved seeing Pope Francis in person. Her first chance came on Saturday, as he arrived for a Mass at the Cathedral of SS. Peter and Paul. There, she was close to the front of the crowd and was able to see the pope blessing them."I never thought I would get as close as I did to the basilica," she said. "It was very spiritual for me just to be in his presence."At the papal Mass Sunday night, she managed to get close enough to see Francis with her own eyes again - no small feat given the expected 1 million attendees. A group of seminary students from Boston let her stand in front of them to take pictures of the altar."It gave me chills when I saw the pope," she said.But the crowd itself also provided inspiration. Oblas recalled that as she waited she had a conversation with a woman of the Jewish faith who also wanted to see the pope."The other people around me weren't Catholic, they were just happy to see him. So many other faiths were interested in being there," she said.Oblas had a chance to share some of the festival with her son, Greg Steigerwalt, a Lehighton graduate who now lives in Philadelphia, especially with the pope's message about the importance of the family. Her mind was also with her own parents, who had passed in the last year. She hung petitions - strips of cloth asking for blessings - outside the basilica in their honor."I was happy to spend some of the event with my son," she said. "And my parents were very religious. If they were here, they would have been right with me."She also hung petitions for her school, St. Joseph Regional Academy.In what may be the most lasting legacy of the pope's visit, students were also inspired. Oblas she also observed excitement among her students when she returned to the classroom on Monday."They were all interested in knowing what was going on. Most of them watched it on television," she said."It was good for our church community."