We plan to visit the Vatican next month. Would anyone recommend a visit on the Sunday when the Pope presents or would the crowds for the tours be horrendous as I suspect? My fiancé would be excited by the idea but I'm taking a more practical approached after waiting hours in queues last time

Your question pretty much answers itself after the "or".

This is a great question. My wife and I booked our trip to Italy prior to the announcement of the canonization. We were bummed out because we heard there can be upwards of 1M people there during that weekend. We will be attending a soccer game on the Sunday during the ceremony so hopefully we can avoid the chaos from that day. We just hope the rest of the weekend won't be ruined due to long lines and overcrowded tours.

On Sundays, the Vatican Museums are normally closed, so there would be no chance of taking a tour there on that day. The Basilica is open, but there's no access to it during the Angelus, and I wouldn't want to go there at any time from about 9 AM to about 2 PM, because there are enormous crowds to see the pope.

On the last Sunday of the month, the Museums are usually open, and admission is free, but the crowds are unbearable on that day. All in all, if you want to see the Museums and the Basilica, or just one of them, I'd go on a different day.

Exceptionally, the Vatican Museums are closed on 27th April because of canonisations.

bogarts,

Maybe I am misreading your question, but it seems to me this is something between you and your fiancee.

Your fiancee sounds excited to be part of a big event and the chance to see the Pope. He or she already knows the crowds will be big. If you don't want to go, then work it out with him or her.

Rome is not so big that you couldn't go to the Vatican area twice. Once to experience the big event and once to tour the interiors. You can make a reservation to tour the interiors to avoid most of the queuing.

I don't think there is anything "practical" about going to the Vatican, ever. The whole thing is totally over the top. And I will point out that they built the whole thing to show off the Pope. He is the cheese in the sandwich. Especially this one.

Maybe once you explain to your fiancee what a mob scene it will be he or she will lose interest. But if not, then either go or either agree to meet up later and then go to the Vatican together to see the non-living stuff when it isn't too crowded to see it.

<I>'The whole thing is totally over the top. And I will point out that they built the whole thing to show off the Pope. He is the cheese in the sandwich. Especially this one.</I>

That's your personal opinion. Many others will disagree.

If it means that much to her and you can't stand it, why not split up for a couple of hours?

They are expecting between 4 and 5 million people in Rome for the canonizations.

Alec,

Yeah, that's the thing about religion. It is all personal opinion and people disagree. I am looking forward to this Pope moving out of the Vatican and selling the whole thing, right down to the velvet and gem-encrusted furnishings, to give the money to the poor.

DebitNM,

There were between 4 and 5 million who came to Rome for the last Papal burial. How quickly they forget!

I went to the Vatican on the first Sunday after the appointment of Pope Francis. Although not religious, I wanted to go for the sense of history. It was certainly an experience that I won't forget, although I had to get away because I found the crowds overwhelming.

As stated, I am not a religious man, but "the pope as Cheese"?
I feel he has done more to improve the image of the Catholic Church in a year than in the previous several decades. He might just be the greatest PR merchant in history, but to me he comes across as a genuine, caring man who seems genuinely concerned about people rather than just dogma. As for the Vatican being a showcase, isn't any major public building: The Capitol, The Houses of Parliament, all cathedrals?

You can't reserve visits to all the interior spaces of the Vatican, only for the Vatican Museums and the necropolis under the basilica. The Basilica has free entry, but you have to pass through a security check, for which the queue is often very long. The only way to avoid it is to go very early (before 9) or late (5 or later), or at a time of the year when there are few tourists. You can reserve a tour of the Vatican Museums that includes the basilica, but you can't reserve a visit to the basilica alone that would allow you to avoid the queue.

[[ I am looking forward to this Pope moving out of the Vatican and selling the whole thing, right down to the velvet and gem-encrusted furnishings, to give the money to the poor. ]]

I think we should distinguish between the papal apartments and other private spaces, which are certainly too luxurious and spaces that have other functions. Pope Francis has indeed moved out of the papal apartments and I'm sure he would be happy to sell them or rent them out. However that leaves 1) the Basilica; 2) the rooms that are used as the offices and reception rooms of the Vatican state; and 3) the Vatican Museums.

The basilica is not any more luxurious than other major places of worship in the world, including many non-Christian place of worship. The Vatican state needs office space and spaces for diplomatic representation, and here also, I don't find them any more opulent than others (including those of the Italian republic). The Vatican Museums is one of the world's major museums, and I would hate to see its collection dispersed all over the world, much of it into private collections. Should the Louvre also sell off its patrimony?

Finally, I believe there were reliable estimates of about 3 million people at the funeral of John Paul II. The estimates (4 or 5 million) they're making for the canonization may be exaggerated, but most people think there will be even more than for the funeral of John Paul II, for two reasons: people have had more time to organize the trip, and there are two very popular popes involved.

As a practising Catholic, my views may be different but anyone can see that Pope Francis is a genuinely caring man who wants people to experience the love and mercy of God. He has done much to eschew the outward trappings of papacy and show that as a servant of the servants of God he embodies Christ-like empathy and compassion, and you don't have to be a Catholic or even a believer to notice that.

Thank you for all replies. Irrespective of ones beliefs the Vatican is a major attraction worth seeing on any trip to Rome

>>>and you don't have to be a Catholic or even a believer to notice that.<<<

You don't even have to be religious. I always take people to the Sunday Blessing when others are traveling with me. Always very moving. Not just the Pope, but the excitement of the groups from all over the world chanting/singing in the Piazza. It's been a long time since I was there on Easter Sunday (John Paul was Pope then), but it really wasn't much more crowded than other Sundays.