Tuesday, January 15, 2008

Catholic News Service: "Details on tickets to papal Masses remain sketchy, as deadlines pass"

According to the Catholic News Service, Your chance of getting a ticket to Pope Benedict XVI's April 20 Mass at Yankee Stadium might depend on whether you live in a diocese close to the Archdiocese of New York or in one of the nation's oldest archdioceses. Nancy Frazier O'Brien explains the reason for the "privileged placement" of our nation's eldest dioceses, in an detailed report on the rush for papal mass tickets:

Catholics from three archdioceses that share with the Archdiocese of New York the distinction of marking their 200th anniversary this year will get special treatment at the Yankee Stadium Mass. The archdioceses of Boston, Philadelphia and Louisville, Ky., will be honored at the Mass, along with the nation's first diocese, the Archdiocese of Baltimore.

Brian Reynolds, chancellor and chief administrative officer of the Louisville Archdiocese, said Archbishop Joseph E. Kurtz of Louisville will concelebrate the Mass with Pope Benedict and the cardinal-archbishops of New York, Boston, Philadelphia and Baltimore.

As for distribution within the New York Diocese:
The New York office extended the deadline for dioceses to submit ticket requests until Jan. 15 and said the heads of dioceses would receive information about their ticket allocation during the week of Jan. 21. Each bishop will distribute the tickets "at his discretion," the New York Archdiocese said.

For those living within the New York Archdiocese, tickets will be distributed in the parishes. "Pastors will receive detailed information regarding ticket allocations and distribution by the end of January," the papal visit office said.

The office also is distributing tickets for the pope's April 19 meeting with young people and seminarians at St. Joseph's Seminary in New York. Those will be allocated "through Catholic schools, parish catechetical programs, parish youth groups, seminaries, etc., in the Archdiocese of New York and other dioceses in the immediate New York metropolitan area."


0 comments: