ROME DIOCESE LAUNCHES JOHN PAUL II WEB PAGE
Ahead of the May 1 beatification of John Paul II, the Diocese of Rome has launched a Web site dedicated to the event. Named Ioannes Paulus P.P. II, the site will gather information on the beatification of the Pope, and make it available in six languages: English, Spanish, French, Polish, Italian and Romanian. The endeavor will also post information on the life of Karol Wojtyla, his thought and his devotion of Mary, the Mother of God, as well as the process of his canonization cause, and other events linked to the May 1 beatification. It will also offer documentation on the initiatives around the world that will surround the Pontiff’s beatification, and promote prayers of intercession and thanksgiving. Additionally, the site links to “Totus Tuus,” which is a monthly magazine dedicated to the the Pope’s cause of canonization.
ROME BOOKED OUT FOR JOHN PAUL II BEATIFICATION
More than two million pilgrims are expected to throng the streets of Rome for the beatification ceremony of John Paul II on May 1, leaving travel agencies desperate for accommodation and hotel prices soaring. The Vatican expects as many as two and a half million people to flock to the ceremony, according to Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints. The ceremony will be led by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter’s Square, where John Paul II’s funeral took place only six years ago.
“Since the beatification announcement, bookings have exploded,” said Giuseppe Roscioli, head of Federalberghi Roma, which represents around 500 hotels and offers around 90,000 of the capital’s 150,000 beds. Hotels and city authorities are bracing themselves for crowds as big as the ones that descended on the Vatican when John Paul II died on April 2, 2005, after a pontificate that spanned a quarter century. Roscioli said the Vatican’s decision to hold the celebration on May 1 complicated matters, because it coincides with a public holiday in much of Europe and is a peak period of tourism in Italy.
“It’s like wanting to organise an event in Monaco during the Formula One Grand Prix. It’s absurd. It’s obvious that the Vatican’s calendar has nothing to do with day-to-day life,” he said. “Our hotels published this year’s prices last year, when we had no idea what date the beatification would be. If a hotel wants to raise its prices it risks being punished by the law,” said Roscioli.
The Vatican has yet to publish the details for the big day, but sources suggest a vigil may be held in Rome’s Circus Maximus arena the evening before the beatification, with a mass in St. Peter’s Square on the day. The Vatican square will be open from midnight the night before the ceremony and entrance to the basilica will be free for pilgrims. The celebrations may turn out to cost Rome’s city hall dearly though. When mourners flocked for John Paul II’s funeral, the city’s cleaning bill came to eight million euros.