Hello, We are going to be in Rome on Friday, June 27th & Saturday, June 28th. I am interested in attending Mass at St. Peter's. Do I need tickets to attend Mass? I found something online that says I will need to request a general audience ticket to attend Mass.
Also, where can I find a Mass schedule?
Thank you in advance for your answers and suggestions.
The general audience ticket is for Wednesday morning's Papal Audience. Otherwise, several daily masses take place in different chapels and anyone can walk in and attend. See the schedule at http://www.santasusanna.org/popeVatican/basilicas.html.
Most days the Basilica remains open to tourists and certain areas are marked off for the Mass with moveable short walls.
Only worshipers are allowed inside the portable walls for the Mass. Find the opening, signal to the gate keeper that you wish to worship, and go in. Sometimes there are 2 or more services simultaneously in different areas.
Anybody can go in, no tickets, as they wish.
There are Masses throughout the day. The largest Mass of the day is typically at the Altar of the Chair (ie, under the Bernini dove window) late in the day, around 5 if I remember correctly. On weekdays, in my experience, this is the Mass most likely to have a choir, if that's important to you. No ticket is needed, just tell the guard you want to attend Mass. They will rope off the area a while before Mass starts, to prevent disruptions of the liturgy. There are also Masses routinely at the Altar of St. Joseph (left transept area). Same procedure to attend. These scheduled Masses have been in Italian.
Finally, when the Basilica first opens in the morning, you'll find a large number of Masses being said at various side altars. It's the time when visiting priests are invited to say Mass. I've never had anyone object to my quietly joining one of those Masses, as space allows. And if language is important to you, you're likely to find one or more being said in English first thing in the morning. First thing in the morning is also my favorite time to visit the Basilica... for the quiet.
The only Mass that requires a ticket is a papal Mass, and if that's going on, you can't get into the Basilica without a ticket. But that's not an everyday event.
One other thought… The most user-friendly website for Mass information for St. Peter's, as well as other things related to visiting the Vatican, is the website of the Pontifical North American College. Choose pilgrim information, and then Masses in Rome. It lists all the scheduled Masses at St Peter's (as well as at the other papal basilicas, and the locations of English Masses).
