Pope to use Lincoln's Gettysburg lectern in Philadelphia

PHILADELPHIA — When Pope Francis speaks outside Philadelphia's Independence Hall in September, he will stand at the same lectern that President Abraham Lincoln used to deliver the Gettysburg Address.

Later this month, conservators will remove the lectern from its display space at The Union League of Philadelphia to prepare it for the pontiff's speech.

Its loan for the pope's use Sept. 26 was announced Friday by the Vatican-sponsored World Meeting of Families, which the pope will be attending.

Lincoln used the lectern on Nov. 19, 1863, to dedicate part of the Civil War battlefield at Gettysburg as a cemetery. It's now one of the most famous speeches in American history.