Anyone for the last of the Pope tickets?
ANYONE hoping to see Pope Francis in the Phoenix Park had better act fast, as less than 10,000 tickets are left, according to organisers.
More than 490,000 tickets have already been claimed for the much-anticipated Mass, which will be held in August.
Organisers from the World Meeting of Families (WMOF) told the Irish Daily Mail that the response for tickets has been overwhelming and are encouraging Mass-goers to get their tickets before they are gone.
Some 45,000 tickets for the Pope’s visit to Knock were snapped up almost immediately when they were released in the past few weeks. Tickets for the pastoral congress in the RDS are also sold out.
According to organisers, the WMOF received 37,000 registrations from 114 countries across the globe for the RDS event, and the congress will see a high amount of young people in attendance.
‘We are very encouraged with the number of people who have applied for tickets. We currently have less than 10,000 left, so would encourage people thinking of going to apply for tickets now to avoid disappointment.
‘The number of tickets that were issued was based on the security, safety and comfort of people involved in such a large-scale event. We would expect the tickets to be gone very soon, it’s been an unprecedented response,’ said Brenda Drumm, media and communications manager at the WMOF, who urged people not to pay for tickets.
‘If anyone is trying to sell tickets to any event then they should be reported to the gardaí, and certainly let us know because nobody should be paying.
‘The tickets, in particular for Knock, will be posted and there all sorts of verifications that have to be gone through,’ added Ms Drumm.
When the tickets were released, a group of protesters from the ‘Say Nope To The Pope’ Facebook page claimed they were able to book hundreds of tickets to the Mass in the Phoenix Park despite having no intentions to go. The page has been criticised as ‘petty and mean-spirited’ by Taoiseach Leo Varadkar amongst others.
A major security operation is being put in place to protect Pope Francis during his historic visit.