#See the Pope

[isaari]

Tips for seeing celebrations with the Pope at St. Peter’s in Rome: by Ivan Saari

Disclaimer:  I am not an authority nor do I hold any office authorized to speak on behalf of anyone but myself.  These opinions and reflections are my own based on my own experiences.

I recently (2022) spent many consecutive days in Rome.  Since it included time over the Easter celebrations at the Vatican, I did some research on attempting to discover the process to obtain tickets for mass.  While there were some helpful sites, I met many people that had little idea of the process and how to navigate it.  Despite my research, I learned many things along the way.  I share them here.  Hopefully it assists people that are looking for what I was; there are no guarantees that what happened with my own experience will be the same in the future though.

I followed the process three times, for Palm Sunday, Easter Sunday, and the Feast of the Divine Mercy.  Lessons I learned capture each of these three occasions.

Requesting:  you will find fax numbers and processes online.  I used an email address to request tickets and submitted the form required. 

I used address:  ordinanze@pontificalisdomus.va

The form looked like this:

...

The email response looked like this:

Acquiring tickets:

I printed out the email/letter from the Prefecture (at a print shop in Rome, easily done for 0.5 euro).  I brought that to the Bronze Door of the Vatican to the Swiss Guards as outlined in instructions. 

I did this on the day before the scheduled mass, two days before the scheduled mass, and the evening two days before.  I always went after 3 pm but before 7 pm.

Go to the East security gates of the Colonnade.  Go through the security.  Move towards the basilica.  Show the gendarmes (or may be security, and may or may not be uniformed) at the opening/gate to the right your letter.  Say why you are there.  They will let you move along a parallel walk to the Bronze Door.  You will see people going to the basilica stopping on their way to take pictures of the Door and Swiss Guard and you will be on the inside of the barrier from where they are.  Move towards the upper portion of the staircase near the Swiss Guard.  You will be met by a staff member; show them the letter.  In the first instance, I was brought to a side room on the right side.  Inside was a table with boxes containing envelopes.  I gave my letter, they found my envelope and returned my letter and gave me my envelope.  I left the same way I came in.  In the second instance, I was pointed to the same room and went alone with the same outcome.  In the third instance, the staff member took my letter, disappeared to the left and brought back my letter and envelope.  The envelope contained a single sheet of paper which was the “invitation.”

Attending mass:

Palm Sunday

I arrived at the East security gates of the Colonnade at 6 am.  I was fourth in line.  Prepare for weather and standing.  Bring layers.  I brought a guitalele and played.  Staff were not present yet to deal with a line, people were left to their own.  Do the best you can to maintain your place despite staff moving barriers and the line, or the line getting wide with additional people joining.  The line will eventually stretch towards Risorgmento plaza.  Be patient/flexible.

When staff are ready, at approx.. 7:30, they will begin to let people move to the security gates.  They will do a quick frisk and backpack check as a sort of triage prior to the electronic security channels.  Use your best guess to move to the hopefully fastest line.  When past the security, move (quickly) to the front to find a seat of your choice.  Typically the edge seats are occupied first as they offer the best opportunity for a view of the Pope and procession.  If you wish, pick up a mass booklet as you enter the barricaded seats (it is a word-for-word documentation of the mass, and a nice keepsake).

Once you have your seat, you are in for a wait as all the seats behind you will likely be occupied.  No one asked to see my ticket/invitation but I brought both the letter and invitation in case.  If sitting in a certain spot doesn’t matter to you, you could come much later, but I would recommend by 9 as getting in takes a while.  At 6, the only reason people are there are for mass.  At 9, you will be navigating a lot of people without tickets wondering what the line-up is for etc. 

Organ music begins playing at approx. 9:30.  The hum of the crowd becomes increasingly electric.

The Pope had recently had knee surgery and was brought to the altar by a black SUV.  The process began and all of the choir, dignitaries, guests etc. were seated.  Mass began at 10:30.

After mass, the “Popemobile” picked up the Pope and security and began winding its way through the channels in the crowd.  People typically abandoned their chairs at that point and moved to crowd the railings.  Selfie sticks and standing on chairs were addressed by the Swiss Guard security spread throughout.

Afterwards, I thought I would be able to sit and eat my packed lunch, but we were all moved out by security.  It takes a long time to clear the square and it is a busy time for those wishing to visit the site.

Easter Sunday

This was the same process, but I was able to get a seat at the first “crossroads” of the chair aisles.  You just have to line up early to get such a spot.

Feast of the Divine Mercy

This mass was held in St. Peter’s Basilica (nothing indicate this so I was prepared for an outdoor mass).  I did not go early this time so prime locations were filled but I still got a great seat towards the back that was on the aisle.  There is much security and you cannot move the chairs. 

Bonus

The Pope gives his address from his apartment window at noon.  When you leave the mass, you can linger and watch the window from which he will stand and broadcast.  It is called Urbi et Orbi on certain occasions and I held up my phone with Google Translate activated and the loudspeakers were clear enough that I received a real-time translation of his words.

Please note:  This document focuses on the procedure and navigation I experienced for these occasions.  Its purpose is not to explore Catholicity and religious variables which would influence any visit.

[thelightattheendofthistunnel]

[deep-space-lines]

in case anyone was wondering where I disappeared to for the past few days, i've been going insane again. fun fact staring at stained glass windows for hours on end will not turn you catholic (source: i stared at so many stained glass windows to make this bc i really wanted to go for a realistic church window sort of vibe)

tumblr is a coward and won't let me upload the full size images so you can look at them and zoom in to your heart's content (please look at them. please) [1] [2]

Prints of this are available on my Society6 (both versions cuz I'm indecisive) (it may take a little while for them to actually appear on the site)

Details:

Timelapse under the cut!

my favorite part of this is when I'm trying to get the pose down and I keep flipping the canvas and it looks like they're doing a silly little dance :)

[illustratus]

Cardinals' quarrel by Théobald Chartran

[paragonraptors]

my latest origins run has had a slightly higher body count than anticipated

[venusasnb]

the way his body creates a shadow like this through this simple white shirt.. but the fact that shirt is oversized which makes him look idk more fragile or smth is just so erotic to me . whatever

[stolenkissesdiaz]

they do say when one ships falls another rises from the ashes…..

[bitethedevil]

just ate the best carbonara of my life, I feel 5 kilos heavier, and there was a cat in the restaurant that I got to pet. Rome is 10/10 and I’m never going home.

[princessbrunette]

drummer!pope

— the moodboard ♡

[canisalbus]

translated by GT

Today I learned that the Pope has the right to appoint secret cardinals, and even the cardinals themselves may not realize that they now have a new position. Popes have the right to make the name public at any time, but if the Pope dies before the Cardinal's name is made public, the individual ceases to be a Cardinal.

Yes, Catholicism is weird.

But more importantly, there is only one person in the world who can prove that I am not a cardinal.

.

[mariailoveyou-guerin]

this man is so 90s FIOANEE he needs to do a love jones brown sugar love and basketball type rom coms! please I need them BAD! one of them he can do with Carlacia ! Jonathan Daviss the man that you are 🫦🫦

[wankernumberniiiiiiiiine]

omg art by @artevalentinapaz to accompany a ridiculous crossover I'm working on:

The blue box appeared in Pneumatics on a Thursday. Teams immediately cordoned it off, and rangers were summoned to keep it under observation.

Jesse wandered in a few hours later, flipping through the report that Emily's team had prepared (and delivered by hand, since Pneumatics were temporarily quarantined).

"What the hell is a 'Police Box?'" she asked, as she looked it over.

"No idea," Emily said. "But that's not the weirdest part."

Jesse sighed and waited.

"In material composition and radioactive emission, it seems to match the Oldest House," Emily said. "At least, from what we've been able to determine from external examination."

"So that implies there's an interior to analyze?" Jesse murmured. She walked over and tried the handle on the box's door, and it stayed steadfastly shut.

A moment later the door popped open with a squeak. Jesse jumped backward and put herself between it and Emily. A blonde woman in a long coat bounded out, waving an object that flashed and whirred.

"Oh," she said, with curious realization. She trotted over to Jesse and waved the object around a bit, listening to the change in pitch. "I don't mean to alarm you, but are you aware that you're infested with an extradimensional alien parasite?"

Jesse blinked. "Yep. She really doesn't like the word 'infested,' though," she said.

"Oh," the woman said, again. She stowed her scanning object in its preferred pocket. "My apologies. Brilliant! I'm the Doctor. This is Yaz."

The other woman who had wandered out of the box waved, and hung back near the door. Jesse noticed that she looked around curiously, and that neither intruder seemed particularly worried about the strangeness of their environment.

"She's the Doctor," Jesse said wryly, as she hooked a thumb over her shoulder toward Emily. "I'm Jesse."

The Doctor started. "Not. Jesse Faden. Oh, and you're Doctor Emily Faden! You're both on my list! Well, I say 'list...'" She appeared prepared to ramble on for quite awhile until her companion gently elbowed her in the side. "It's an honor."

Emily's eyebrows had ascended to some new, permanent altitude. "Pope, actually."

"What?" the Doctor said. She looked around. "Where?"

"Emily Pope."

The Doctor blinked. "Oh." She flicked her eyes between Jesse and Emily and put on a bright smile. "My mistake." She swung her arms idly. "So, how many guns would you say are pointed at us right now?"

"At least a dozen," Jesse said.

"Never liked guns," the Doctor muttered. "What would it take to knock that number to half?"

"You could start by telling us how you found this place."

The Doctor smiled. "It doesn't like to be found, right? Funny, that. And us? We're just travelers." 

"She's a menace," came a voice from the shadows off in a corner.

Jesse looked over her shoulder. "Ahti, you know these people?"

Ahti was mopping, and didn't bother looking up from his work. "One has the face that always changes. The other is the constant who is never the same," he muttered. "I know them."

"Nice to see you, too," said the Doctor, with a wave. "And if I'm a menace, we're going to have words about you parking a type 35 TARDIS in New York City for hundreds of years."

[oobbbear]

just saw this photo while was scroling pinterest and thought it was cute

With bath time, you get a fuzzy bat!

[velvetjune]

I want control 2 to have even more documents and more reading

[murdrdocs]

kook pope heyward who’s known for giving insanely good head, but he’s picky. he won’t bring just anyone home back with him. so it becomes like a sort of select club, only a few girls who can really boast about how hard they came when pope was between their legs.

[beguilingcorpse]

idk what's funnier. pope francis using a derogatory gay slang term in an address to cardinals or the context that he was essentially saying "we can't let any more gays become priests! too much faggotry in here already"