Groups from Northwest Indiana travel to Philadelphia to see Pope Francis

CHICAGO (WLS) -- Pope Francis arrived in Washington D.C. Tuesday for a six-day trip visiting three cities, meeting with President Obama, addressing Congress, speaking at the United Nations in New York and taking part in a Vatican conference on families in Philadelphia.

Hundreds of thousands will be heading east to get a glimpse of the pontiff, including a group of Indiana residents who will be part of the gathering in Philadelphia.

Pope Francis champions the idea of a Catholic Church for everyone: for the elderly, the poor, the undocumented. These are communities Northwest Indiana knows well.

"We're a parish that's 99.9 percent Hispanic, most of them Mexican, and a huge percentage undocumented," says Fr. Steve Gibson of St. Mary's Church in East Chicago, Ind.

A total of 150 members of St. Mary's church will board Pennsylvania-bound buses Thursday morning. They have no accommodations.

"We would never have the money for hotels and I might say if we want a true picture of what's going to take place next week you can guarantee that half of the people there don't have accommodation either," Fr. Gibson says.

"If you let God guide your life, he's going to be the one who's going to give you everything," says Martha Reyes, one of the congregants who will be on the trip.

Perfect strangers opened their homes to Reyes and Lily Aguayo when they traveled to Brazil in 2013 to see Pope Francis.

"You know, I was scared because you don't know who you're staying with," Aguayo says. "But they were really nice, they made us feel like home. It was amazing."

And one could argue, even the best-made plans are subject to change.

"People going have been aptly warned this is going to be a challenging," says Bishop Don Hying.

Bishop Hying encourages Catholics in Northwest Indiana to engage with the community. This summer's Catholic Youth Experience drew nearly 300 teens for a day of service. He hopes this trip to Philadelphia will spark further outreach.

"I think everyone going is really pumped up, ready to be inspired, ready to be transformed by seeing the Pope, hearing his message. The long-term fruit, though, is what happens when we all come home," says Bishop Hying.

Both groups from Northwest Indiana plan to leave on buses Thursday morning. ABC7 Eyewitness News will be in touch with them to keep tabs on their progress and whereabouts in Philadelphia this weekend.