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POPETRIP-EVENTS Nov-29-2007 (580 words) xxxn
U.S. papal trip to have mostly closed-access events
By Patricia Zapor
Catholic News Service
WASHINGTON (CNS) -- Masses at Yankee Stadium in New York and the new Nationals' baseball stadium in Washington are the two main events of Pope Benedict XVI's April 15-20 U.S. visit for which the general public might be able to get tickets to attend.
Details are expected to be made available by the two archdioceses after the first of January to explain how people might receive tickets to the Masses, primarily through their parishes.
Priority in allocating the Mass tickets will be given to people in the archdioceses of Washington and New York. Some tickets are likely to be made available to nearby dioceses, with formulas for their distribution to be left up to those dioceses.
Here's how tickets or invitations for the various papal events are expected to be handled:
-- April 16 diplomatic reception at the White House: Participants from the diplomatic community are to be invited through the White House.
-- April 16 meeting with the U.S. bishops at the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington: Event is limited to U.S. bishops. Planning is being coordinated by the staff of the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops.
-- April 17 Mass at Nationals' stadium in Washington: Ticket distribution plans will be announced after the first of January.
-- April 17 meeting with Catholic educators The Catholic University of America in Washington: Open to presidents of Catholic colleges and universities and superintendents of diocesan school systems. Planning for the event is being handled by Catholic University, but the guest list is limited to the presidents and superintendents.
-- April 17 interreligious gathering at the Pope John Paul II Cultural Center in Washington: Invitations are being handled by the USCCB Committee for Ecumenical and Interreligious Affairs.
-- April 18 speech to the U.N. General Assembly in New York: Access to the U.N. building and the grounds nearby will be controlled by the United Nations.
-- April 18 ecumenical event at an as-yet-unidentified New York parish church in Manhattan: Invitations to Christian religious leaders will be extended by the Archdiocese of New York.
-- April 19 Mass for priests, deacons and religious at St. Patrick's Cathedral, New York: Invitations will first go to New York Archdiocese-based priests, deacons and religious, then to those of neighboring dioceses in New York state, New Jersey and Connecticut if seats are available. Event is being coordinated by the New York Archdiocese.
-- April 19 meeting with children with disabilities at St. Joseph's Seminary Chapel in New York: Event probably will accommodate no more than dozens of children, by invitation only.
-- April 19 youths and seminarians rally at St. Joseph's Seminary: All U.S. seminarians will be invited. Youths will receive tickets through their Catholic schools, religious education programs and youth groups, starting with the New York Archdiocese and then nearby dioceses. Capacity expected to be between 10,000 and 15,000.
-- April 20 visit to ground zero, site where New York's World Trade Center stood: A simple ceremony is planned, to which representatives of the police, fire and emergency workers who responded to the 2001 terrorist attack, and family members of victims of the attack will be invited.
-- April 20 Mass at Yankee Stadium in New York: Ticket distribution plans will be announced in January. Tickets most likely will be distributed through parishes, with all recipients required to submit their names, addresses and other information
END
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