Finally, after months of logistical madness and enthusiasm, the week of Pope Francis’ arrival in Philadelphia is here.

The Holy Father will leave John F. Kennedy airport in New York City and arrive at Philadelphia International Airport around 9:30 a.m. on Friday morning, September 26th. (Sorry, no public access to the runway.) Time will not be wasted. An hour later, the Pope will celebrate Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway. By now you may already know about the big events, but here’s the full schedule of his two-day visit.

What happens until then?

1.The city preps the stage

The areas within the traffic box — also known as the “Francis Festival Grounds” — saw some changes over the weekend. Dozens of portable restrooms have been set up on key travel corridors, like along Market Street between 17th and 18th Streets (pictured below) and on the Ben Franklin Parkway where the papal Mass will take place. Bike racks already buffer the roads. Expect this inner-ring of the security zone to look something like this by Friday morning.

Most downtown businesses and offices will be closed on Friday for the final wave of preparations, and city officials anticipate both crowds and delays to increase with each day.

2. The World Meeting of Families begins

Don’t forget that Tuesday kicks off the World Meeting of Families, with tons of breakout workshops, lectures, guest speakers. The full schedule can be found here.

3. The Pope's pre-Philly itinerary

Speculation is rampant. We already know a few of the topics Pope Francis will address while in Philadelphia, while there are plenty of other issues that some groups would like to see him address, in one form or another.

Over the weekend, Francis landed in the Americas. He visited Cuba where he met with Fidel Castro. But the New York Times reported that many were disappointed that the Pope didn’t address any specifics of Cuban’s political atmosphere, speaking only in a vague “pope code.”

Pope Francis will leave for Washington D.C. on Tuesday, where he will be personally with U.S. President Barack Obama. He will arrive in New York City on Thursday evening before making his way to Philadelphia. Over the next few days, we'll be watching closely how he engages each city differently.

There is a mixture of high and low hopes for what the Pope’s visit will bring to the city, but given his nature of improvisation and going off script, we won’t know what we’re getting until he gets here.