I'm thinking of going to Rome with my mom. She really wants to see the Pope. What exactly is a Papal audience? Is it mass? How long is it? Are you able to sit- mom can't stand for long?
Many Thanks,

Marbie, do go and take your mom and see the pope - we went in Jan.2000 and saw Pope John Paul, so thankful we did - in the winter you can obtain tickets, as the audience was inside(winter), from the web-you pick them up at a church in Rome and just present the tickets at the door, just make a donation when you pick them up - however, I think the audiences are just outside in the piazza in the summertime, allowing veryone to attend, except for August when I believe he is at his summer home in the mountains. Hope this helps, jsut use any search engine and type "papal audience tickets"
Good luck, Leslie

Marbie-you want to get your tickets to the Papal Audience, which occurs on Wednesday mornings, lasts for a half hour or so, from the American Church in Rome-Santa Susanna-this website will give you all the information you want, plus tips for where to stay and eat.

www.santasusanna.org

And having just looked at their website-they are having a huge dinner dance bash Birthday of Rome celebration with jazz band and all the works April 21! Tickets only 50 Euro-that's really good, wish I could go-on Via Nomentana-I like that area. No holds barred feast, with all drinks-can't get much better than that!

We saw the Papal audience last year. Request free tickets in advance (and make a donation). Go early for a good seat.

Woody

I saw Pope John Paul II three times and it was absolutely fabulous each time. Your post brings back fond memories. The 2nd time I saw him was at an indoor papal audience. A Filipina nun stood alone among the huge audience and sang a cappella to him, with her hands raised high. JPII was suffering from his illness at the time, yet the entire room was silent and his grace was amazing. I was in tears, as were many others. Outdoors is not as intimate and JPII was very special to people of all faiths, but by all means take your mother to see him. It is not a Mass, but more of a rally. Groups from all over the world are recognized individually. JPII was fluent in so many languages that he spoke (with great difficulty because of his Parkinson's Disease) directly to each of the groups/countrie represented. I haven't seen Pope Benedict yet.

Tickets are required for all Papal audiences, they must be booked at least two weeks in advance. Seems the Parish of Santa Susanna is doing the bookings for English speakers, I hope someone else will know more about the procedure; I don't because we did ours through the German pilgrim centre.

The audience takes place in the piazza in summer and in a hall in winter. We went last year in may, so it's the summer version I'm describing here.

The whole audience will take about two hours. Chairs are put up in the piazza, so you needn't stand. Come early to find good seats. Bring hats or scarves (no umbrella, as it takes everyone else's sight and thus isn't allowed) to protect yourselves from the sun, and some water.

Calling it an "audience" is quite a joke because there will be some 60.000 to 70.000 people attending.
It's not a mass. The Pope arrives on his car and is driven round the whole piazza. He will then give a sermon in Italian, which will then be translated/summarized in several languages, and they'll name the groups (not the individual visitors, though) attending, who may then wave and cheer to the Pope, who waves back if he discovers them in the crowd. If you like people-watching, you'll enjoy that...

bookmarking,thanks.

I'm checking the website here:
http://www.santasusanna.org/popeVatican/tickets.html

"If you cannot pick up your tickets the evening before the event and you give us advance notice, it may be possible for us to leave your envelope in the back of the church and you can pick them up the morning of the event between 7:30 and 8:30 AM when the church is open for a mass in Italian."

Has anyone tried a pick up on Wednesday?

Thanks!

Remember, the same dress code for entering St Peter's applies for Papal Audiences, whether in- or outdoors. So no bare shoulders or midriff, covering knees etc. This doesn't of course apply if you just want to stand at a distance in St Peter's Square with no ticket, but you won't get a very good view of the sudience. You may, if you are lucky, see the Pope being driven in and out of the piazza.

Two years ago we took my 70 year old mother to the Papal Mass held outside on a very warm and sunny April day. It was only when we arrived the day before to pick up our tickets that she had a clue of the numbers involved. Until that time, she really thought she would have a one-on-one experience with her Pope. Thankfully, we still laugh about this today, but she was incredibly upset at the time to find out that it was indeed more of a rally than a sedate conversation with the Pope.

Knowing what she knows now, she still says it was an incredible experience, but sitting outside in the sun for hours was very hard on her. She was done touring for the rest of the day and spent the afternoon napping....not exactly the way we were planning on spending our afternoon. So, the upshot is to make sure your mother is aware of the effort involved, as well as the return.

Have a great time!
--Annie

There are smaller, more intimate audiences with the Pope (groups of between 20 - 50 people) where you can get to stand before him in a room or chamber within the palace for a few minutes/seconds one-on-one, but I don't know what they're called or how one goes about attending one.
My sister's ex-boss went to one with JPII. She seemed to be within touching distance of him, taht I could tell from the pictures she showed us, and many of the women present were veiled (black lace). Men wore suits I believe. There were also a few nuns and clergy present from what I recall of the photos.

They're called - surprise! - private audiences. But they're impossible to arrange unless you're a VIP of some kind.

I have faxed the Cardinal's office in my local Archdiocese in the past in order to obtain Papal Audience tickets. The office faxed to me a letter to take to the office of the Prefect of the Vatican either early on the morning of Papal Audience or the afternoon prior to it. In return for the letter, the Prefect hands you the tickets. I had the honour of attending an indoor audience to see Pope JPII, and an outdoor audience to see Benedict XVI. Both times I was given tickets that allowed me to sit in a section closer to the Holy Father. I understand you do not have to be a Catholic to make this request of your local Archdiocese. (Although I am a Catholic.)

BC

While going to the Vatican post office, passed through St. Peter's Square and the Wednesday audience was going on with JPII - I didn't have a seat but just stood outside the roped in section and watched. We had already seen him at the window on the previous Sunday - that's another time to see him.

I feel a little silly bumping this thread up. Now I'm thinking of skipping because it may not fit in with my schedule after I've thought more about it.

I'm not Christian. Neither are my parents. I bet it will be a nice experience. But is this something I should go out of the way for? The Pope just came to NYC and I didn't even attempt to follow the activities.

We were just there this past Sunday, and neither my mom nor I are very religious at all -- my mom much less so than I. We just wandered over on Sunday for the 12:00 blessing, just to check out the scene and people watch, really.

Well, we ended up being pretty close to the barrier where the popemobile drove by, and my mother thought it was the coolest thing ever. She said her knees were weak.

It's pretty interesting to see the spectacle of it all, even if you're not there for the religious aspect. If you have an hour or so to kill, just wander over like we did and enjoy the scene.

I would definitely recommend checking out St. Peter's Basilica. It is pretty incredible to see.

111op, I'm sorry, but I think only you can answer that question. Much depends upon how much you respect the Pope, the office of the Papacy, and how much you enjoy pageantry. (I mean all of that honestly, I am not being cynical or sarcastic.)

In any event I wish you...
Buon Viaggio,
BC

Thanks! Of course I don't mean to be disrespectful when I asked as well.

Not taken offensively at all.

BC