Nearly 2.3 million attended papal events in 2010

(December 31, 2010) Nearly 2.3 million people attended the various events of Pope Benedict XVI during the course of 2010, an increase of some 30,000 over 2009. The Prefecture of the Pontifical Household released the figures on Friday saying they are estimates based on the requests and tickets issued for the papal events in the Vatican and at the papal summer residence of Castelgandolfo outside Rome. Open events like the midday ‘Angelus’ or “Regina Coeli’ prayers and celebrations in St. Peter’s Square, such as the closing of the Year for Priests and canonization ceremonies are based on estimates. During the course of 2010, the Prefecture had issued some 493 thousand tickets for Wednesday’s general audience and 178,150 for special audiences. Over 381 thousand attended the Pope’s liturgical celebrations, whereas over 1.2 million were present at the ‘Angelus’ and ‘Regina Coeli’ prayers. These figures however do not count the Pope’s travels within Italy, including Rome parishes, and his 5 foreign visits, namely to Malta, Portugal, Cyprus, the United Kingdom and Santiago de Compostela and Barceleona in Spain.