The Beatification of Pope John Paul II

The Beatification of Pope John Paul II is scheduled to take place at the Vatican on May 1, 2011.  An estimated two million visitors are expected to visit Rome for the ceremony and events.  There are a series of events scheduled to take place over the span of three days. . .April 30th, May 1st and May 2nd.  The Vatican has declared all ceremonies and events to be free of charge.  I repeat, you will NOT need to purchase a ticket or reserve your place in order to take part in any of the events relating to the beatification.  

The schedule of events announced by the Vatican are as follows:

• Saturday, April 30th ~ A prayer vigil will be held in Circus Maximus from 8:00 pm – 10:30 pm.  The vigil will be led by Cardinal Agostino Vallini, and Pope Benedicte XVI will participate via live video feed from the Vatican.
  
  • After the vigil in Circus Maximus, eight churches in the city center will open at 11:00 pm, and will remain open throughout the night for a night of prayer.  The churches are as follows:
    • St. Anastasia (near Circus Maximus)
    • St. Bartholomew (Tiber Island)
    • San Marco (Piazza Venezia)
    • Church of the Gesù (Piazza del Gesù)
    • Sant’Andrea della Valle (Piazza Vidoni – Corso Vittorio Emanuele)
    • Sant’Agnese in Agone (Piazza Navona)
    • Chiesa Nuova (Via del Governo Vecchio – Corso Vittorio Emanuele)
    • St. John of the Florentines (Via Acciaioli, near San Pietro)
• Sunday, May 1st ~ Pope Benedicte XVI will officiate the Beatification Ceremony in St. Peter’s Square at 10:00 am.  There will be an hour of preparation in which the faithful may pray together the Chaplet of Divine Mercy.  For those unable to enter the square, there will be large video screens displayed throughout the area.  After the ceremony, the remains of Pope John Paul II will be displayed for viewing inside St. Peter’s Basilica in front of the Altar of the Confession.  Everyone in attendance will have the opportunity to view the Pope’s remains as there is not a set ending time for the viewing.  The viewing in the basilica is said to remain open until the last visitor enters, although keep in mind this could be a very long wait.
    
• Monday, May 2nd ~ There will be a Thanksgiving Mass held in St. Peter’s Square at 10:30 am, to end the ceremonies.  It will be led by Cardinal Secretary of State, Tarcisio Bertone. There will also be musical performances provided by the Choir of the Diocese of Rome, Choir of Warsaw and the Wadowice Symphony Orchestra of Poland.  
   

Another thing to note, in honor of the Beatification of Pope John Paul II, the Vatican Museum will have special extended hours.  On April 26th – 29th, and May 2nd, the Vatican Museum will be open from 7:00 pm – midnight, with last admission at 10:00 pm.  You will not be able to reserve tickets or make reservations for the extended hours.

If you will be one of the many visitors to beautiful Rome during this time, please be mindful that the city’s population will double in just a matter of days.  This being said, try to plan in advance.  If you plan to take in any of the many other sites throughout Rome, go ahead and reserve your tickets for any museums or archeological sites you would like to visit, if at possible.  Hotels will also be full.  If you do not already have a room reserved, try to do so immediately.  The public transportation (trains, trams, metros, buses, taxis) will likely be overfull since there will be around two million extra people using the already crowded services, so you will also want to wear a comfortable pair of walking shoes as you might have to do a good bit of walking around the city.

Also, I mentioned earlier that the Beatification ceremonies and events do NOT require tickets or reservations.  The events scheduled by the Vatican will be FREE and open to the public during these three days.  Unfortunately, there will be some people out to try to make a quick buck and profit from this religious event by ‘selling tickets’.  Please be aware and do not fall for any of the scams.  Other than that, enjoy your time in the beautiful (yet crowded) Eternal City.      

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