The first round of distribution for 10,000 free tickets that grant access to the Independence Mall meeting on Sept. 26 go on sale at noon Tuesday.
PHILADELPHIA -- The recent announcement that tickets would be required for access to certain public appearances by Pope Francis during his impending Philadelphia trip has been widely criticized.
Pope Francis will visit Philadelphia on Sept. 26 and 27. Fortunately, the first round of distribution for 10,000 free tickets that grant access to the Independence Mall meeting on Sept. 26 go on sale at noon Tuesday. More information regarding the sale is available on the World Meeting of Families website.
"Sections are ticketed due to security and crowd management. The message, as always remains, 'Join us and be part of history,'" according to the World Meeting of Families. "We have been working diligently with our partners for months to finalize plans that maximize public access to events involving the Holy Father."
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Tickets are required for the Independence Mall gathering that will discuss immigration and religious freedom. According to organizers, ticketing is due to security plans and are limited to four per transaction.
On Wednesday, Sept. 9, two more rounds of sales will distribute another combined 20,000 tickets for two other papal appearances: The Festival of Families along the Parkway on Saturday and Sunday's Mass.
Tickets for those two events are not required, however ticketholders will be closer to the holy father than those standing at least 2.5 blocks away along the Parkway before 20th Street. Around one million pilgrims are expected to travel to Philadelphia for the pope's visit. The announcement that a ticketing system would be employed was announced only last week, although area transportation services rolled out their own similar approaches weeks ago.
Two parades along the Parkway as well as the locations of 40 Jumbotron television screens have also been announced, which will grant better views of Pope Francis. The locations of the screens range from North Broad Street at Green Street to southern locations, such as Lombard and Spruce streets at Broad.
"The Benjamin Franklin Parkway remains the best place in the United States to see the Holy Father, especially now that two parades have been added. We feel confident that all who will come will be delighted and enjoy these events," The World Meeting of Families stated in an online announcement of the ticket sales.
Greg Adomaitis may be reached at gadomaitis@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @GregAdomaitis. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.
