POPE TO STAGE HUGE PHOENIX PARK MASS
Pontiff’s summer visit to cost €20m
THE POPE is to say Mass at a huge event in Phoenix Park in what is set to be one of the highlights of his visit next year.
The Archbishop of Dublin also revealed the pontiff ’s trip is expected to cost €20million.
Pope Francis is due to come to Ireland in August for the first papal visit since John Paul II in 1979.
Archbishop Diarmuid Martin said the pontiff will likely meet prisoners and the homeless during his stay.
He added: “There will be a number of events – a three-day conference in the RDS about family values, on the Saturday evening there will be, presumably in Croke Park, there will be a celebration of families, with musicians and speakers.
“On the Sunday there will be a final Mass, presumably in Phoenix Park.
“Everywhere he goes, he goes to a prison. He’d like to see and meet people who are experiencing poverty, so I imagine something for the homeless.
“I’d like him to meet with the Travellers too. You have to remember as well that this pope is 81, Pope John Paul II was
60 [when he visited Ireland in 1979], so the amount of things he can do is limited.”
Around 1.25 million people attended the Pope’s Mass at Phoenix Park 38 years ago but the Archbishop didn’t wish to estimate how many will turn out next year.
He told RTE’S Sean O’rourke: “We’re not looking at numbers, we are looking at the quality of the event and if there were 1.2 million people in Phoenix Park last time and two less this time then people would look at it as a failure.
“So I think we have to look at it in a different way and ensure that those who want to come to the Mass can.
“It is going to cost over €20million because there is the cost of gathering people together, of security and technology that is needed.
“We have had church collections and they would bring in about €5million, the rest will come from fundraising.
“I don’t know how much a concert in Croke Park normally costs but we are anxious that families can attend without experiencing financial difficulties. We won’t charge anything for children.”