Vatican - Papal audience info?
 

Hi everyone!

I'm thinking of getting tickets to attend a papal audience while I'm in Rome later this year. I would love to hear from anyone on this board that has been to a PA and their impressions. Is it worth it? Is it an actual mass? How many people attend? What actually takes place? Thanks!

Thank you kybourbon, i saw this site already and just wrote to the Prefettura directly for tickets - do you know where i can get more detailed information about the audience itself i.e. how many attendees, how long it lasts etc. Thank you for your response.

How many? Thousands.
How long? About 2 hours. But people queue up early for best seats.
Is there an actual Mass? No.
What actually takes place? If it's outdoors in St Peter's Square, the Pope enters on popemobile. Groups of pilgrims are greeted by MC. The Pope gives a devotional address (in several languages). Our Father sung in Latin. He gives a blessing, and people hold up crucifixes, rosaries and other devotional articles to be blessed. The Pope then greets some people and groups individually, before leaving on popemobile as people applaud. It's similar if it's held indoors (in winter months, in the audience hall next to St Peter's), the Pope walks in and out.
General Audiences are covered by Vatican TV, and if you have cable/satellite, it's often covered by EWTN too.

I went to one years ago with John Paul II. It was attended by masses of people, a huge hall that was packed. He spoke for about 30 minutes, the same speech in about 10 different languages. Walked down the aisle and "blessed" folks. Frankly, it was a bore, but I'm not much of a Catholic. It did nothing for me. The whole thing was about an hour long.

Alec & StCriq: Thanks for your responses - just what I was looking for. Happy Friday!

Mrs F - normally as contemptuous of Papist excess as you'd expect from any half Calvinist, half Jew - was close to gobsmacked the one time she was physically close to the Fuhrer.

He occasionally officiates at proper services in St Peter's and elsewhere. We attended Vespers there with him in charge. He was all of four feet from us at one point and gave an interesting, well-researched, syrup-free, sermon in Italian. He has an excellent chanting voice (what a tragedy he wasn't born Anglican: he'd have been the PERFECT precentor of a good cathedral) and a reasonable proportion of the congregation managed to join in the psalm responses and the basic prayers (like the Pater Noster).

Not a rosary held out for blessing to be seen. Not a single applause-grabbing reference to the party of nuns from Peoria. A bit more clapping for the man than the Church ought to allow (if they put the energy into stamping out this pathetic adulation that they invest in telling people how to dress you might suspect one or two of them had read the bible), but generally a civilised, schmaltz-free, experience superintended by a man with great liturgical presence and a fine mind, backed by a choir that was almost up to the standards of a modest English provincial church (which is praise indeed for Italy)

Lightyears from the ghastliness of a typical audience. What struck both of us (and we're both usually immune going on allergic to celebrities) was his extraordinary charisma relatively close up.

I've only attended the Sunday Blessing (multiple times) which is held in the square. You don't need tickets for it. You just show up. You can check his schedule on the Vatican website.

thanks for the help, all!