Local Notre Dame High School students heading to see the Pope!

Chattanooga, TN (WDEF) – Pope Francis will be in Philadelphia on Sunday and 35 students from Chattanooga’s Notre Dame High School will be in the audience.

That’s as the pontiff says mass on the steps of the Philadelphia Art Museum.

The students’ parents are paying for the trip; although some of the expense is being covered by contributions.

Sister Margaret Mary will accompany the students.

She saw Pope John Paul the 2nd when she was a student.

She said, "I’m excited as a teacher at the high school to be bringing a group of high school students. I hope that this experience with the Pope, shows them as it showed me in high school, this isn’t just a world leader, this really is the shepard of the flock."

The students left for Philadelphia Thursday morning on a chartered bus.