Tickets now required to get within 5 blocks of pope’s Mass
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Want a close-up view of Pope Francis celebrating Mass in Philadelphia? Three weeks before his visit, planners have announced you'll need a ticket to do so.
Organizers say tickets will be required to get within five blocks of the altar on the Benjamin Franklin Parkway on Sept. 27.
Tickets will likewise be needed to get a spot in the same five-block area when Francis attends the closing of the World Meeting of Families a day earlier.
The Philadelphia Archdiocese's 219 parishes are getting tickets. So will surrounding dioceses, other faith communities and some social service programs.
Tickets will also be required for the pope's Sept. 26 speech outside Independence Hall, with 5,000 available online Sept. 8.
Forty huge TV screens will capture the events for those not closeby.
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