How to See the Pope in Rome

Wondering how to see the Pope in Rome?

There are several ways to see him, even this close up like I did!

What are the Different Ways I Can See the Pope in Rome?

Seeing the Pope can be the highlight of your trip to Rome.

Whether you plan ahead or decide to do this on the fly, you can make this happen if you know how.

First make sure he is in town when you will be here.

Visit the Vatican website, choose your language, and look at the calendar so you can check Pope Francis’ schedule.

(His schedule is not announced that far in advance, max 2-3 months.)

On this page about how to see Pope Francis on your visit to Rome, we'll go over these events:

• Wednesday Papal Audience
• Sunday Angelus
• Non-holiday Papal Masses
• Holiday Papal Masses
• Other Holiday Events (not Holy Mass)

See the Pope in Rome - Wednesday Papal Audience

Perhaps the easiest way to see the Pope is to attend a Papal audience.

These are held (almost) every Wednesday, when Pope Francis is in Rome.

It’s quite easy to get Papal audience tickets, so if you will be in Rome on a Wednesday (and assuming he is in town), why not add this to your itinerary?

The Papal audience is not a Mass.

It is an opportunity to listen to the Pope give an address (mostly in Italian), followed by prayers, a homily, and usually some singing.

At the end of the ceremony, the Pope will bless religious articles.

So if you have any rosaries, medallions, bibles or other religious objects, bring them along.

The Papal audience is usually held outside in Saint Peter’s square.

When it’s raining heavily, or very cold, the Papal audience is held inside at the Hall of Pope Paul VI (to the left of St Peters Basilica as you are facing it.)

If there are large crowds, there may be one group in the Audience Hall and one group in St. Peters Basilica.

And, in the late summer, if the Pope goes to his summer residence just outside Rome at Castel Gandolfo, then it may be held there.

The Pope does not hold public masses or audiences inside the Sistine Chapel.

Papal Audiences are held on Wednesday mornings at 9 am (ish), and last from 1 - 1 ½ hours.

If you want a good seat, or in fact a seat at all, I’d recommend arriving by 7am. 

Tickets are required for attending the Papal audience. 

Click here to find out how to get them for free.

But, just because you have a ticket does not mean you will get a seat, or even get in.

The later you arrive, the less chance you have of a seat, a decent view, or, sometimes, of even being allowed in if the crowds are too large.

Visiting the Vatican Museums during or after the Papal Audience

Are you thinking about visiting the Vatican Museums during or after the Papal Audience?

You may want to visit the museums during the Papal audience, as it MAY be a bit less crowded then.

But just know that the Vatican Museums will be very crowded from around 11 AM on that day, as many people will have the idea to combine a Papal audience with their Vatican Museums visit.

If you can split up these visits on different days, I recommend it but if you have no time to do that, just prepare for crowds in the museums on Wednesdays.

And of course, make sure to book your tickets in advance!

Sunday Angelus

If you want to see the Pope in Rome, and are here on a Sunday, head to Saint Peter’s Square at noon for the Angelus, a holy Catholic church devotion.

Pope Francis will appear from the window of an apartment there.

He gives a short speech followed by the Angelus, ending with an Apostolic blessing.

He may also greet the crowd in various languages.

The blessing, including the various greetings, usually lasts a maximum of 15 minutes.

You DO NOT need tickets for the Sunday Angelus.

But you should plan to get there early because going through security takes time.

Almost any spot in Saint Peter's Square will give you a good view, but if you have a zoom lens on your camera, or better yet, binoculars, you will get an even better look!

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See the Pope in Rome - Non-holiday Papal Masses

All liturgical celebrations conducted by the pope (Papal Masses) require a ticket.

It's free and easy to request them.

For tickets to most Papal Masses, you may request tickets up to a few days prior to the event.

Papal Massses are held fairly regularly, and may be held in various churches around Rome, not just Saint Peters basilica.

For example, the Pope may visit one of the other Papal Basilicas in Rome, Santa Maria Maggiore (Saint Mary Major), San Giovanni in Laterano (Saint John in Lateran), or San Paolo Fuori le Mura (Saint Paul Outside the Walls.)

In another example, on Ash Wednesday, the Pope usually gives mass at Santa Sabina, a beautiful ancient basilica on the Aventine Hill.

To see a schedule of upcoming Papal Masses (and also to request tickets), visit the website of the Prefecture of the Papal Household.

See the Pope in Rome - Holiday Papal Masses

Of course, tickets to very popular Papal Masses, in particular for Christmas Eve and for Easter Sunday, may be difficult to come by.

Everyone wants to see the Pope for these masses!

But it doesn't hurt to ask.

If you really want to see the Pope during Christmas or Easter, your best bet is requesting these particular tickets at least 6 months in advance.

If you don’t or cannot get tickets, you may still attend.

You will just be outside the church where the mass is being held, and you can watch it unfold on giant Jumbotron screens.

Both Christmas and Easter seasons offer a lot of different Papal Masses you may attend.

Easter Papal Masses

Following are the Papal Masses taking place over the Easter holiday season.

Tickets are required for almost all events, and for midnight Mass on Easter Sunday and Palm Sunday, they will be especially difficult to come by.

For specific dates, visit the page about Easter celebrations in Rome, which is updated each year.:

• Ash Wednesday (first day of Lent, 46 days before Easter Sunday.) The Pope holds Mass in the Saint Peter's Basilica at 5pm.
• Palm Sunday, Blessing of the Palms, Procession and Holy Mass (one week before Easter.) The Pope holds Mass at in 9:30 Saint Peter's Square.
• Holy Thursday (Thursday before Easter Sunday.) The Pope holds Holy Chrism Mass at 9:30 inside Saint Peter's Basilica.
• Good Friday (Friday before Easter Sunday.) Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross. The Pope leads a procession at the Colosseum at 9pm. NO TICKETS required for this.
• Holy Saturday (one day before Easter.) Pope Francis holds mass called "Easter Vigil" at 8:30pm in Saint Peter's Basilica.
• Easter Sunday. Easter Mass at 10:15 in Saint Peter's Square (tickets required), followed by the Urbi et Orbi speech at noon (no tickets required), in which the Pope addresses the crowds.

Christmas Papal Masses

Following are the Papal Masses taking place over the Christmas holiday season.

You may wish to visit this page (updated every year) about Christmas events in Rome to see specific dates and any current events.

Tickets are required, and for midnight Mass on Christmas Eve, they will be especially difficult to come by:

• December 24: Christmas Midnight Mass (actually beginning at 9:30pm, Saint Peters Basilica)
• December 31: First Vespers and Te Deum, Saint Peter's Basilica, 5pm
• January 1: Holy Mass on the Solemnity of Mary, Saint Peter's Basilica, 10am
• January 6: Holy Mass for the Epiphany, Saint Peter's Basilica, 10am

See the Pope in Rome - Other Holiday Events with Pope Francis

Urbi et Orbi

Twice a year, on Christmas Day and Easter Sunday, the Pope gives a special blessing to the crowd called the Urbi et Orbi ("to the City and to the World.")

You may also watch this speech live on Vatican TV, or listen on Vatican radio.

At noon, the Pope will come out of the from the central loggia of Saint Peter's Basilica for the blessing.

No tickets required for this.

Immacolata - the Pope paYs homage to Mary at the Spanish Steps

On December 8, which is the Immacolata, or Immaculate Conception, the Pope visits Piazza Mignanelli, a plaza next to the bottom of the Spanish Steps. 

The Pope goes to pay homage to Mary, whose statue is at the very top of a pillar there.

(According to the Vatican website, this is called "Act of Veneration of the Blessed Virgin Mary on the occasion of the Feast of the Immaculate Conception.")

His scheduled time for this visit is 4pm, so if you want to get a spot, you need to get there a lot earlier than that.

Good Friday before Easter - via Crucis at the Colosseum

On Good Friday before Easter, the Pope leads a procession of the via Crucis at the Colosseum.

No ticket is required but expect large crowds.

If you are wondering where to get the best vantage point, you should try just above the Colosseum on where via degli Annibaldi and via Nicola Salvi meet.

But you won't be alone, so just do your best to find a spot where you can see.

Getting Tickets to Papal Audiences and Papal Masses

You must have tickets to attend the Wednesday Papal Audiences, and any Papal masses.

It's easy and it's free to book these on your own.

If you want to see the Pope in Rome, try to plan ahead for this.

Keep in mind that if you want to book for any popular Papal mass, such as for Easter Sunday, Christmas Eve, certain canonizations of popular figures, etc., you should consider requesting tickets at least 6 months in advance, or, try to request these tickets through your priest/church at home.

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