Here’s your best chance to see Pope Francis in DC

Last updated on: September 15, 2015 at 6:04 am by CNA Daily News

Here’s your best chance to see Pope Francis in DC 2015-09-15T06:04:00+00:00 CNA Daily News

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Washington D.C., Sep 15, 2015 / 12:04 am (CNA/EWTN News).- All official events for Pope Francis’ upcoming visit to Washington, D.C. are ticketed, but there is a new opportunity for the public to see the Pope without needing a ticket.

After his visit to the White House on the morning of Sept. 23, Pope Francis will step into the Popemobile for a parade around The Ellipse on the south side of the White House, and onto the National Mall. Viewers can line the sides of the route to see Pope Francis without a ticket – they’ll just need to pass through a security check first.

“This will be an opportunity for the estimated tens of thousands of people expected to gather in Washington to see the Holy Father while he is visiting the nation’s capital, September 22-24,” the Archdiocese of Washington announced.

Participants will presumably have to arrive early to get a good spot, though – gates open at 4 a.m. ET. The website WalkWithFrancis.org has a list of “restricted items” that cannot be brought into the viewing area.

Pope Francis will afterwards head to St. Matthew’s Cathedral to meet and pray with the U.S. bishops at 11:30 a.m. ET, followed by the canonization mass for Bl. Junipero Serra outside the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception at 4:15 p.m. ET. The public can view telecasts of both events from giant screens on the National Mall, around the Washington Monument.

Can viewers picnic while watching Pope Francis’ day? Yes, as long as they abide by National Park Service regulations, the Washington archdiocese said.

The parade is the first public event in a D.C. tour that is exclusively ticketed. For Pope Francis’ address to Congress on Sept. 24, members of Congress received only one guest ticket to view the address inside the House gallery, and 51 tickets to watch a live broadcast of the address outside the U.S. Capitol building.

Tickets for the canonization Mass, which will be said in Spanish, are extremely hard to come by, even for Catholics in or near the District. Only 25,000 tickets are available, and a portion of those will be reserved for the Hispanic community.

The rest of the tickets are being distributed through parishes in the area. The Archdiocese of Washington is home to 620,000 Catholics and almost 140 parishes, and the neighboring Diocese of Arlington, which will also receive tickets, has more than 400,000 Catholics and almost 70 parishes.

Previous Post

September 14, 2015

As the cross is lifted high, we must bring ourselves low, Pope says

Next Post

September 15, 2015 Knock knock. Who's there? Pope Francis, apparently.

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category Americas Asia - Pacific Europe Middle East - Africa Uncategorized US Vatican

Select a Month November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

Which Persian king allowed the Jews to return and rebuild Jerusalem?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Darius Artaxerxes Xerxes Cyrus