Have you been to a Papal audience?

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I don’t know if this is the right forum for this, but here goes.

I have some non-Catholic friends that want me to accompany them to Rome next year. They’ll be there a month. Naturally I’d love to go, see the Vatican and maybe the Holy Father if possible. I’ve been reading up on how to get an audience and it sounds like a mob scene.

Has anyone here been to a Papal audience? Do you get very close up to the Pope or is he way off at the other side of a huge hall or piazza? How would you go about getting things like Rosaries blessed there.

Thanks.
 
My wife (before she became my wife) had a Papal audience when she was in her teens back in 1977 with Pope Paul VI.
 
Surely there’s more people here that have been to an audience.
 
I’ve been to a general audience (the mob scene in the piazza) but I can’t be very helpful as I was a only kid on a tour group and have no idea how the arrangements were made.

I was on an aisle in the middle of the mob, so when the holy father was driven by in his papal jeep* he was quite close. I remember being elbowed by nuns trying to get closer and touch the hem of his garment, but I fended them off valiantly. :rotfl:

(* This was before the attempt on the life of John Paul II of blessed memory – no one called it a “pope-mobile” back then)

tee
 
I too am curious about audiences as I will be going to Rome in February and our pilgrimage director says we will have a general audience. What is that?
 
I was in Rome in 2001 and may you be as blessed as I was! Our tour guide arranged the general audience and we were stationed in the A bloc…which meant we were pretty close. St Peter’s Square was packed but we all had chairs and were given tickets. We went 3 hours ahead of time to get a good seat. We were advised to bring a book and water.

Our late beloved Pope was at the top of some stairs just in front of the Basilica…exactly where they put his coffin just before entering the Basilica and gave us a last look before they brought him in to be laid to rest. (if my memory serves me right! 😃 ). He entered the crowd from the back of all the peoples as the area was cordoned off from the public area. There were a couple of jumbotrons (and believe me they were huge and yet seemed to be dwarfed by the pillars) so you could follow him wherever he went.

It is an experience that is out of this world The first time I saw him was during the Angelus. He seemed to be only a quarter of an inch from where we stood on the piazza. I burst out in tears of joy just to be in his presence…he could be felt from that distance. He blesses everyone’s religious stuff that were bought. You need not bring it out.

The second time was during the general audience and again, he blesses the relgious articles. Our late Pope blessed many articles…but I kept a few like 2 rosaries.

My niece will be going to Youth Day in Cologne and I will ask her to buy me a rosary that will be blessed by Pope Benedict.

Oh…How blessed we are! 🙂 :clapping: :dancing:
 
The traveling channel has a show called Passport to Europe with Samatha . SHe visited Rome and went to one of those mob scence audiences. All I remember is that she said that it was free. Maybe the Traveling channels web site could give you more information.
 
I also was at an outdoor General Audience on a Wednesday in 2001. It was fairly easy to get tickets to the weekly event. Contact the American parish in Rome, Santa Susanna via email, and drop by their office to pick them up when you’re there. It is open seating so arriving early is important to get a good seat. PJPII drove in a car through the crowds that wonderful day in April then up to the steps in front of St. Peters. He spoke for 2 hours or more in many languages.

The groups were very subdued and not wild at all. It was wonderful. We had our two teens with us and warned them to bring a book or magazine. We lucked into a very large group of French girls touring Rome. They were great to sit with. My son and daughter played UNO with them for about 90 minutes before the audience began. We still continue emailing them occasionally. That was a good game to play for American kids who only know their colors in Spanish. These girls were fluent in several languages.

Anyway, do go, you’ll not regret it. Research a lot before going to Rome and ready everything you can about it. The Santa Susanna website is great to explain things. Their specialty is hospitality to American pilgrims. Just ask for Papal Audience tickets. and try to get tickets to the Scavi - the underground cripts where the popes are burried in St. Peter’s.
 
Hello

Yes in May 2000, the year of the Jubilee, it was awesome and remember hot at 90F that day. Good memories of Rome.

God Bless
Saint Andrew.
 
I took the the attached photo in 2001 as our dear Holy Fahter drove through the crowd - 🙂 We were two people from the middle aisle and about 20 rows back from the “stage”.

I could see well through my zoom camera and on the tv’s they set up. There are a few jumbotrons in the area so you can see exactly what is happening up front.

At the end of an audience, the Holy Father gives an apostolic blessing all religious artilces that you have brought and you and all your family (where ever they may be).
 
A **General Audience ** is the regularly scheduled meeting that the Holy Father has with his flock at St. Peter’s - who every comes that day - it could be 20 people or 100,000. He does a teaching on Wednesdays and a short blessing from his apartment on Sundays when he’s in town.

There have been some incredible teachings from PJPII on those Wednesdays. During the first years of his pontificate, he gave us the Theology of the Body over several years of audiences. He repeats the teaching in a few languages then greets pilgrims in many more languages. Zenit reports on the text of all of the teachings.

here is another link on details of getting papal audience tickets
catholicnews.com/data/stories/cns/tickets.htm
 
I was at a Papal audience with Pope John Paul II in 1991 in te Paul VI Hall.

It was a wonderful affair. Very tame and all seated affair.
The Pope arrived, he gave us a meditation on the Psalms and then gave us his Apostolic Blessing. All objects carried with you are blessed in this manner.

After the benediction Pope John Paul walked freely amongst us and we were as far away from him as your computer monitor is from you now.

I remember when he arrived into the Hall i just burst into tears. The atmosphere changed and became electric.

I will never forget it.

The square can be crazy, but the Paul VI hall is a much more intimate and refined affair.
 
Our family was at a general audience w/ JPII right after Christmas. It was in the Paul VI Hall which holds 7,000 I think. It was not crazy. You wait in line outside the (crowded!) square w/ your ticket until they open the gates.

No, we were not close, but we didn’t care. We were there! There was a large screen (maybe 2) so you could see him up close. When he gave his blessing, the religious items you had with you were then considered blessed blessed by the Pope. They make that announcement at the beginning. We were also told that the blessing we received was extended to family members who were not with us.

You can go through your diocese or the North American College (where American seminarians study) and request tickets.

We were also blessed to attend Midnight Christmas Mass w/ JPII last year. —KCT
 
Wow! This sounds every bit as exciting and moving as I’ve imagined it.
 
Yes I’ve also been to one in the Paul VI Hall. If you happen to be in the US military there is a USO close to The Vatican and that is another place where you can get tickets.
 
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