[Gocamino] Today's article in the NYT

[blaroli at aol.com]

In Christian popular tradition there are three  recognized primary  pilgrimages:  To Rome, to Jerusalem and to Santiago. The number of pilgrims that visit the Vatican in Rome every year is absolutely overwhelming and expected to increase because of the popularity of the  first Latin American Pope..
There is an article in today's New York Times about getting to see the Pope when in Rome.  We all know that print newspapers are having a very hard time and have cut their budgets, and personnel, drastically.   The number of errors and omissions in so many published articles   bespeak of a lack of fact and information review, as, once again,  sadly exhibited in today's article.
The half-page report gives information  as to how to reach institutions that can help those who wish to do so attend a papal audience. Failing that, the article says, the person interested  can join a tour that insures entry to an audience (for 42 Euros). In a throw-away line the article says that one wishing to spend the time to do so can obtain a ticket to a Papal audience on his/her own.
The article, in my view, is misleading and incomplete. It should include the fact that those that join an "audience tour" will be taken first to a souvenir shop or two and will be among the last to arrive having to seat, or stand, at the fringes.
Actually, the easiest and fastest way to obtain a ticket to a papal audience is to do so oneself, and it is entirely free.
The papal audiences are on Wednesdays. you can get a ticket by simply going to Saint Peters a few days before. As you approach the Basilica go under the colonnade on the right facing the church,  (where the post office is), continue under the colonnade to its end, where a wall terminates it; just before the end there is a large door on the right above a few steps flanked by two Swiss guards. just go to one of them and tell them (they speak several languages) that you want tickets to the Pope's audience and they will direct you inside where down the corridor is another Swiss guard  sitting at a desk. He will ask your name and the number of tickets that you want (I think that you can get up to four) and that's it.  If you are very lucky you will be  directed to an office upstairs where a priest performs the service, and will climb a gorgeous marble stairway and get to see works of art and priceless antique furnishings that are not seen elsewhere.
The audiences start at ten a.m.  You need to get there much earlier to be at the head of the line so that you will be among the first persons to enter and can choose a seat right by the passage way that the Pope walks through after the audience, or at the barrier of the Popemobile's way.
In the winter the audiences are held at a very beautiful and ample theatre on one side of the Basilica; in late Spring the audience is in the open in front of the Basilica.  In the summertime the Pope goes to Castelgandolfo and the much simpler audience is held in the courtyard of "the castle".
You needn't be a Catholic, or a Christian, to obtain tickets, and the spaces are on a "first come first served" basis, except for the first few rows that are reserved for special visiting groups.
At the end of the audience the Pope does a "walk-about" if the audience is in the theatre,  or "ride-about" if outside. He may stop and shake your hand or give you a personal smile if you are right up by the barrier. He is followed by official photographers who take thousand of  pictures. The next day you can go to the photography shop inside the Vatican; just tell the blue-clad Swiss guards at the entrance  that you are going to see the photographs and they will direct you to the shop inside.  If you see yourself in one of the pictures, or there is one that you particularly want, you can get a copy for about a quarter. If there is a special one that you would like enlarged and you'll be leaving the Eternal City shortly you can leave an order for it and they will  mail it to you in due time.  The charge for this is negligible.
A couple of times I have gotten tickets this way for people living in Rome who did not know how simple it is to get them.  Well, people have been saying for centuries that if you want to know where is what in Rome you should ask a tourist.
Because of recent world history,  to get into the Saint Peter's Basilica today, of the area leading to a Papal audience, one must go through metal detectors which takes time.  But if in the morning of the  audience you get there about nine a.m. you'll be among the first to go in and will be able to choose  a prime space.
Groups from all over the world may sing, or play, or make themselves known somehow during the audience.  It is terribly moving and exciting to see the world come together in such a manner, and it brings tears of enjoyment and sentiment to almost anyone there. 
I hope that some of you will be able to use the information above.
Now, I do know that pilgrims to Rome are colloquially known as "romeros" and pilgrims to Jerusalem "palmeros"; is there a similar rubric for pilgrims to Santiago? Does anyone know?
Regards,
Rosina
 

blaroli at aol.com