Tickets for those hoping to see Pope Francis during his Irish visit will be available from next Monday.
Up to 500,000 places are being made available for the Phoenix Park – and a further 45,000 for Knock Shrine.
However, concerns have been raised over the distances people will have to walk to see the Pontiff.
Attendees will have to walk several kilometres and wait for hours before seeing him in Phoenix Park.
His arrival in Ireland in just over two month’s time is part of the 'World Meeting of Families.'
The Government is urging attendees to 'Get a ticket. Plan your transport, Prepare for a long day.'
Here's everything you need to know to know to make sure you are in place and ready for the spiritual spectacle.
- Pope Francis will arrive in Ireland on Saturday June 25th - his full itinerary is available here.
- The main Festival of Families event takes place in Croke Park that evening. It is a fully ticketed event with further information available here.
- He will visit the Apparition Chapel at the Knock Shrine at 9:45am on Sunday 26th August - further information on the Knock visit is available here.
- He will be the chief celebrant at the closing Mass for the World Meeting of Families in the Phoenix Park on Sunday at 3:00pm - further information available here.
- Tickets for the event are available here - with registration opening on Monday June 25th.
- You will have to choose between Phoenix Park and Knock - you will not be allowed to apply for both.
- New public transport options for attending both Knock and Phoenix Park have just been published here.
- Attendees are advised to use public transport and plan your travel in advance.
- People have been warned that crowds are likely to be standing for a long period of time and the journey may involve a lot of walking.
- There will be a range of supports - rest zones, welfare areas, medical facilities and a team of volunteers - to assist.
He’ll spend around 36 hours in Ireland – taking in a trip to Knock Shrine in Mayo and a mass for around half a million people in the Phoenix Park in Dublin, both on Sunday the 26th of August.
Communications manager Brenda Drumm said that while the tickets are free – everyone will need one to attend:
“Tickets for Knock Shrine will be printed and posted by the 31st July to all of those who have successfully booked on our website,” she said.
“We will be issuing the tickets for Phoenix Park as a print-at-home ticket.
“We will not be printing or posting tickets for Phoenix Park.”
Tickets for @Pontifex visit to Knock Shrine & Phoenix Park will be available from Monday morning the 25th June via https://t.co/kVnrBtfoQZ They are free but you won't get in without a ticket @WMOF2018 #popeinireland pic.twitter.com/5MEvTKrlGz
— Paul Quinn (@pdquinn7) June 22, 2018
The secretary general of the World Meeting of Families Father Tim Bartlett has moved to play down concerns that attendees could be forced to walk several kilometres and wait up to five hours due to a massive security operation.
He said it would only happen in the worst case scenario:
“We are confident that, for the vast majority of people, those figures will not apply,” he said.
“But people should, nonetheless, be realistic and plan your journey well.”
More than 34,000 people from 114 countries have registered to attend the World Meeting of Families.
6,000 volunteers have also signed up - however organisers are still looking for 4000 more to get onboard.
Reporting from Paul Quinn
