STROUDSBURG -- Less than four months until Pope Francis is expected to visit the City of Brotherly Love and already our area is seeing an economic boost.
More than a million Catholics are expected in Philadelphia for the Pope and there's no room at the inn.
Philadelphia is about two hours away from the Stroudsburg area depending on traffic.
So as Catholics across the country, even as far away as Canada, start looking for somewhere to stay during the Pope's visit to Philly, hotel reservations in the Poconos are picking up.
There's no shortage of places to stay in the Pocono Mountains between resorts and hotels, even two new hotels going up in Bartonsville.
And while summer is their sweet spot, the last full week in September is starting to look pretty busy not only in Philadelphia, but in the Stroudsburg area, too.
"We saw we're booking up very quickly for September, and it was my understanding from some friends of mine in Philadelphia that they've already been sold out after the announcement of the Pope this coming September," said Michelle Duffin, general manager of the Hampton Inn in Stroudsburg.
Yes, the Pontiff himself is paying a visit to the World Meeting of Families in Philadelphia, Pope Francis' very first papal visit to the states.
Muffin said the 100-room hotel is nearly booked during that weekend.
"80 percent already. We only have 20 rooms left to sell, so if people need rooms at that time, they need to call pretty soon because we are selling out very quickly."
Not only are hotels getting quite a bit of business come September for the Pope's visit to New York and Philadelphia, so are charter buses. St. Luke's in Stroudsburg already chartered a bus to go down in September and it's already sold out.
The folks at Martz Trailways said the charter department is already sold out during the Pope's visit and there are daily bus routes to New York City and Philadelphia from the terminal near Stroudsburg.
Now the Poconos look forward to playing host to the faithful, making the journey to see Pope Francis in person.
"About two hours drive, not a bad drive, then you can come back here and enjoy everything the Poconos has to offer," said Bob Phillips, president of the Greater Pocono Chamber of Commerce.
Phillips met Pope John XXIII when he was just a teen. He said it's something that stays with you the rest of your life.
Pope Francis is also expected to visit Washington, D.C. and New York City during his stay in the U.S.