csabia

Is the Wednesday morning public event worth going to? Was the ticketing procedure difficult? I'm catholic. Thank you.

bookchick

I guess only you can determine if it's worth going to. Since it's a chance to be as physically close to the person who is the head of the religion I belong to, as well as the head of a City-State government, I thought it would be worthwhile.

There are several ways to get tickets to Papal Audience. One route you can take is to go through the "American" Catholic church in Rome, Santa Susanna. See their website info here:

http://www.santasusanna.org/popeVati...peVatican.html

The route I took was to contact my local Diocese office, and ask their assistance. They, in turn, faxed the Office of the Prefect of the Vatican on my behalf, and then faxed a letter back to me, instructing me to take it to The Vatican early on the morning of Papal Audience in order to obtain my tickets.

Buon Viaggio,
BC

Woody

We went to the Papal Audience in March, and it was a very moving experience. We requested tickets through the Church of Santa Susanna.

Woody

csabia

what was it like?
are there thousands of people?
is anything audible or does he just wave?
Can I pick up the tickets that morning?

j_999_9

bookchick gives good advice about tickets, etc. We ordered the tix through our local diocese and picked them up the a.m. of the audience. All went quite smoothly.

Get there early and try to get a seat near one of aisles (the ones that run side-to-side, not front-to-back) close to the stage. The Pope often enters on an open Pope-mobile through the aisle and then up to the stage. We lucked out and were literally only 10 feet away from him (John Paul).

I'm not religious, but it's definitely worth it.

suziem

We attended the General Audience on January 5th 2006 and we too got our tickets through the American Church, Santa Susanna. I requested them via email and it took a few months to hear back.

We were instructed to go to S. Susanna the afternoon before to collect the tickets. They warned us to arrive at St. Peters several hours in advance. We did, about 2 hrs early and then the Bascilica was already about a third full! The General Audience was set up in St. Peters, there were seats set up outside for those without tickets. Inside, there were hundreds of rows of seats on either side of the central aisle. You want to get a seat on the aisle. You don't need to be close to the front, just close to the aisle! Pope Benedict spoke to the crowd outside first then entered the church from beside the central Altar. Speaking in many languages he spoke to the crowd, offering greetings and blessings. Then he walked in a zig-zag path down the aisle shaking hands with the lucky ones close enough to reach where ever he stopped. The excitement is near pandemonium. People were standing on their chairs, flashing pictures and crying out.

My husband and teenage son were able to reach out and shake hands with the Holy Father. They still talk about their 'Pope Hands' and feel it was the highlight of our 2-week trip to Italy. I wasn't fortunate enough to touch the Pope but still felt moved just to be in the same 'room'. In my families' opinion, the experience was definitely worth the wait. But I must say, I wouldn't take young children, drink anything and there is some luck involved to actually shaking hands with the Pope. But it was an expereince we will never forget.

bookchick

Everything is audible.

There are thousands of people.

The Pope speaks in several languages, gives a homily on a Bible reading, and blesses everyone.

I had the pleasure of attending an indoor audience with Pope John Paul II in January of 2002, and last June I attended an outdoor audience with Pope Benedict XVI. No matter how long I live, I will never, ever forget these events.

I think the only way you would be able to pick up tickets the same morning as the Audience would be to go through the office of the Prefect of the Vatican.

BC

GeorgeW

I would recommend dressing appropriately for the occasion. Think about how you would dress if you were invited a White House dinner. You should dress better for a meeting with the Pope than you would for a temporal political leader. As a Catholic, you should dress your absolute best when meeting Vicar of Christ. And, if you attend the Mass conducted by the Pope, God is present as well. I envy your situation and think you should attend.

KT

GeorgeW, have you been to a Wednesday audience? There are throngs of people, filling much of St. Peter's Square, and the vast majority aren't dressed up at all. In fact, the most common mode of dressing seems to be the matching brightly colored caps and neckerchiefs worn by groups of pilgrims.

bookchick

If/when attending outdoor audience, I would HIGHLY recommend the use of sunscreen. God loves us all, but I can't sincerely believe He would want any of us to barbecue ourselves waiting for Papal Audience to begin!

I wore a modest short-sleeved shirt and a knee-length skirt for Papal Audience, and did not feel at all out of place.

BC

csabia

Thank you all for your advice.

lucybell

bookmarking. thanks.

nona1

And, if you attend the Mass conducted by the Pope, God is present as well.

So God doesn't turn up at any other church/worship services? So why do people bother?

Alec

I think smart clothes is only necessary if you are lucky enough to be selected to meet the Holy Father, after the audience. There is a special area set aside for this near the front, where you are personally introduced to the Pope, and you need a special invitation, usually arranged by your Bishop through The Vatican. If you are not a Catholic, you can try your embassy accredited to the Holy See (or Italy, if your country doesn't have one) - diplomats have own channel of communication with the Prefecture for the Pontifical Household, but you need to have a special reason for requesting this.
If you just have a general ticket for the audience, wear what is comfortable as there's a lot of waiting and hanging around. Many would want to wear religious insignia such as medals and scapulars and you can have your devotional articles such as rosaries blessed at the end of the audience.

quokka

Dressing up? What for? You'll be in a crowd of 60.000 people.

jabez

I think George is thinking that this is some sort of small group meeting.
LOTS of people.What you where is irrelevant.

missypie

We are Presbyterians, but still went to the Papl Audience and found it worthwhile. We arrived 2 hours early and had to stand our ground against a busload of Japanese folks who were trying to sit one deep on the aisle. After holding onto those aisle seats for two hours, about 5 minutes before the Pope arrived, an Italian nun came and asked if she could stand in front of us!!! How were we supposed to refuse a nun???!!! Anyway, she was about 4'9", so we could see over her head.

If you go, please be prepared to devote your entire morning to the experience. Don't try to leave early. Even if you were willing to be that rude, it would be almost impossible to get out....when the Pope approaches, everyone stands up and runs to the aisled/baricades, and chairs are moved and strewn too and fro. Once it's time to sit down again, there is nothing resembling neat aisles. Just a jumble of chairs. I had to have one of our kids on my lap through the whole thing, because once we sat down, we were short a chair.