1. The Holy Father’s usual weekly appointments (unless he is out of town) for the public are the following:
a) Sunday Angelus at 12:00 to 12:15 noon on St. Peter’s Square (no tickets required)
b) Wednesday Audience 9:00 a.m. to 12:00 noon (just approach a Swiss Guard at any of the Vatican gates on Tuesday afternoon and ask for tickets to the Papal Audience).
2. Free tickets for the Holy Father’s Wednesday Audience, Christmas or Holy Week services, Canonizations, and other activities:
a) Free tickets may be very easily requested through the Prefecture of the Papal Household. (Please do not try to reserve through the Collegio, as the Collegio has no special direct contact whatsoever with the Vatican offices. It is better to reserve with the Vatican directly and get their reply directly, through this channel that they themselves have set.)
b) Note that if his Calendar of Activities (click on Calendar button) does not explicitly say “PAPAL MASS”, the Holy Father might not be the one celebrating; but in such cases he could be present during or right after the Mass, for example, to give a message and the Apostolic Blessing.
c) Bring along your Rosaries, stampitas and other tokens of devotion, as the Pope includes in his intention blessing these as well.
3. Slots are extremely limited for the Holy Father’s morning Masses at his residence (Casa Sanctae Marthae), due to the small size of the chapel and the huge volume of requests.
a) Held two to four days a week, schedules vary, depending on the Pope’s availability.
b) To request to attend (or for Priests to conconcelebrate), you may write:
The Personal Secretary to the
Holy Father Pope Francis
Casa Sanctha Martha
Vatican City
FAX +39 06 6988 2417
c) Indicate in your letter the following information:
- date of the Mass you wish to join (give a number of days’ range)
- names of the persons in the group
- a brief description of who they are
- your telephone and fax (required) numbers
- your email
- your street address (not P.O. Box)
d) Pray hard that your request could be granted. The fewer persons you include, the better would hopefully be your chances.
4. In big Masses with the Holy Father, Priests may or may not be allowed to concelebrate. Go to the Office of Liturgical Celebrations and register (that is, create an account). Then click on the LOG-IN tab to select the activity you wish to concelebrate in.