It will be a simple Mass in a massive MSG

The World’s Most Famous Arena, where The Who has smashed guitars and Madonna has pranced around in lingerie, is keeping it simple for its next big star.

The Vatican requested that this month’s Mass at Madison Square Garden with Pope Francis be down to earth, just like him, say organizers and the Archdiocese of New York.

“I’m very honored,’’ said producer Don Parise, whose company Diversified Production Services put on the “121212” concert for Hurricane Katrina relief at the Garden, featuring The Rolling Stones, The Who and Bruce Springsteen.

“It’s a historical event and a highlight of my career,’’ he said of the pope’s visit.

The Sept. 25 Mass is expected to draw a crowd of 20,000 — not including 50 bishops, numerous cardinals and priests, 200 deacons distributing Communion, and an orchestra and choir.

Parise said he was ordered to keep the affair as simple as possible.

“The hardest thing is we’re in an arena. Madison Square Garden is the greatest arena in the world, but it’s an arena that’s built for sporting events and concerts,” he said.

“So what we created is very interesting, a different setup. We put an actual orchestra pit in the back of the stage (right), and . . . the acoustics work really well.”

Father Matthew Ernest, head of planning for the Mass, said all the pieces were coming together for the 6:30 p.m. celebration.

“The greatest challenge is the distribution of Communion,” he said.