Philly Jesus offers advice for Pope Francis' visit

POPE FRANCIS should bring his "breastplate of righteousness" and his "belt of truth" when he travels next year to "satan's playground," also known as Philadelphia.

That's according to the most recognizable man in a long, white robe currently within city limits, Philly Jesus.

Philly Jesus, whose real name is Michael Grant, has been dressing as Jesus Christ and hanging out at LOVE Park for the past seven months, posing for pictures with tourists and "spreading seeds" for God, as he likes to put it.

Pope Francis should know that being a visible religious figure in the City of Brotherly Love isn't always easy. On Friday, a city cop arrested Philly Jesus, 28, on failure-to-disperse and disorderly conduct charges, prompting the Internet to create #FreePhillyJesus.

At his lawyer's request, Philly Jesus agreed to an interview only via text messaging and refused to talk about the case pending against him. So, we asked Philly Jesus for his advice for Pope Francis when he visits Philadelphia.

"It's satan's playground in philly . . . so make sure u rock the helmet of salvation . . . the breast plate of righteousness . . . the belt of truth," he said. "So you can withstand the evil in Philly. And let your light shine before men."

Philly Jesus said the pope should "expect mad love" from city residents, but he also warned that "u always gonna have ur haters."

What would Philly Jesus say to Pope Francis if he gets the chance to meet him?

"I would say . . . wassup my dude . . . I love you bro . . . let's keep liftin' up the Name of Jesus. Let's let our light burn bright for Jesus," Philly Jesus said. "And I would say . . . let's grab a bite to eat on south street."

If there's one thing the pope should do while he's in town next year, Philly Jesus said it should be to stop by and see him.

"Well the number one thing to do in Philly . . . is to stop by love park . . . and to get a selfie with Philly Jesus . . . and converse about Jesus our Lord and Savior," Philly Jesus said. "I'm lookin forward to his arrival . . . I wanna get a epic selfie with Him."

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