General Audiences (or Papal Audiences) are held on Wednesdays if the Pope is in Rome. Visitors may typically wish to obtain tickets in advance (free of charge) to enter St Peter's Square for the audience. If you do not have a ticket, you can still enter and participate at the back of the Square.
The Audience usually starts at 10.30am and will include small teachings and readings. Depending on the groups that were visiting, there will be different addresses made to them in their languages. The Audience will end with several blessings where the Pope will pray for different intentions and bless any religious articles visitors have brought along.
For more information on Papal Audience, check out the official website here.
Tickets collection the day before
In our previous post on how to reserve tickets to the Audience as Sposi Novelli in Singapore, we mentioned that we have received the attestation certificate and a copy of the letter from the Papal Household.
It was indicated in the letter that we can collect the General Audience tickets in Pope Paul VI Hall between 3pm to 7pm on the day before the Audience, or between 7am to 10am on the actual morning itself.
To ensure that there are no hiccups, we decided to collect it the day before. It was rather easy to find the queue. Once we entered the city, there was a pretty long queue that has formed along the Square.
Everyone was just patiently waiting for their turn to enter the hall for tickets collection. There is a bag and security check along the line and I had to stay behind because Mr R has forgotten to remove his Swiss Army Knife from his backpack. :(
Anyway, he took some photos along the way while he waited for the tickets, so here goes:
Buying a Zuchetto for the exchange
Word has it that if you present a Zuchetto to the Pope and it fits, he will exchange his Zuchetto for yours.
After we collected the tickets, we made a trip to Gammarelli, the Vatican tailor, to purchase a Zuchetto. It cost about 80 Euros (~120SGD).
Ditta Annibale Gammarelli (Via S. Chiara 34 - 00186 Roma) was about a 30 minutes walk from St Peter's Square and you probably need to use google maps or equivalent to navigate your way around. It opens on weekdays from 8.30am to 7pm.
Preparing for the Audience
As part of the Sposi Novelli requirement, I bought myself a simple white dress online and brought my veil along (just in case).
The Audience usually starts at 10.30am and will include small teachings and readings. Depending on the groups that were visiting, there will be different addresses made to them in their languages. The Audience will end with several blessings where the Pope will pray for different intentions and bless any religious articles visitors have brought along.
For more information on Papal Audience, check out the official website here.
Tickets collection the day before
In our previous post on how to reserve tickets to the Audience as Sposi Novelli in Singapore, we mentioned that we have received the attestation certificate and a copy of the letter from the Papal Household.
It was indicated in the letter that we can collect the General Audience tickets in Pope Paul VI Hall between 3pm to 7pm on the day before the Audience, or between 7am to 10am on the actual morning itself.
To ensure that there are no hiccups, we decided to collect it the day before. It was rather easy to find the queue. Once we entered the city, there was a pretty long queue that has formed along the Square.
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| The queue for tickets collection |
Everyone was just patiently waiting for their turn to enter the hall for tickets collection. There is a bag and security check along the line and I had to stay behind because Mr R has forgotten to remove his Swiss Army Knife from his backpack. :(
Anyway, he took some photos along the way while he waited for the tickets, so here goes:
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| More queuing.... |
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| Done! |
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| Here's how the tickets looked like |
Buying a Zuchetto for the exchange
Word has it that if you present a Zuchetto to the Pope and it fits, he will exchange his Zuchetto for yours.
After we collected the tickets, we made a trip to Gammarelli, the Vatican tailor, to purchase a Zuchetto. It cost about 80 Euros (~120SGD).
 |
| Gammarelli, tailor for Roman Clergy |
Ditta Annibale Gammarelli (Via S. Chiara 34 - 00186 Roma) was about a 30 minutes walk from St Peter's Square and you probably need to use google maps or equivalent to navigate your way around. It opens on weekdays from 8.30am to 7pm.
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| Our happy little purchase |
As part of the Sposi Novelli requirement, I bought myself a simple white dress online and brought my veil along (just in case).
The top criteria i had in mind was lightweight and wrinkle-free... because backpacking with a full bridal dress is not really a funny joke and going to meet the Pope with a wrinkled dress is a huge no-no too!
Day of the General Audience
The security counters are opened from 8am, but because Sposi Novelli couples have a designated sitting area, we decided to enter the Square only at about 10am. It was really packed with people who were early so that they can get a good view.
The weather was crazy that day and we were kind of relieved that we didn't join the crowd earlier. For people who have lived their lives on the equator, the sun was killing us. Imagine how ironical it would have been to be down with heatstroke when we are in Rome. :'D
After the Audience has ended, the Pope went round the Square to greet the other visitors. The Sposi Novelli has to queue up to wait for Pope Francis to be back.
Finally the moment arrives! The Pope appears and started blessing each and everyone of us.
One thing to note is that we are not allowed to take photos during the interaction with the Pope. Someone will pass you an instruction slip with details on the venue to select, purchase, and collect official photos. We purchased the three photos above (together with some other photos) in digital format and 4R printed format.
After the blessing we were ushered into the Basilica where we were allowed to admire the pieces up close.
We bought night tickets to the Vatican Museum on another day so we called it a day at the Vatican City.
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| The dress i bought |
The security counters are opened from 8am, but because Sposi Novelli couples have a designated sitting area, we decided to enter the Square only at about 10am. It was really packed with people who were early so that they can get a good view.
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| Can you tell it was scorching hot?? |
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| We could barely keep our eyes open |
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| Mr R's camera has an incredible zoom! |
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| Queuing up to queue for blessings |
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| Everyone waiting patiently to meet the Pope |
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| Spotted a Chinese couple in her Kua |
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| Pope Francis trying on our Zuchetto |
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| Pope Francis blessing the religious articles we bought |
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| Star Struck moment |
After the blessing we were ushered into the Basilica where we were allowed to admire the pieces up close.
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| The famed La Pieta It was too crowded to get closer though |
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| Love how the lights are filtered in from the ceiling |
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