Vatican Papal Audience, how long?

We were there in 1993 when John Paul was pope. It is a huge audience hall with hundreds and hundreds of people. The Pope comes in down the center aisle and if you are not seated on the center aisle you won't get to see him walk in because everyone stands up when he enters and blocks the view. You will see him when he is seated at the stage in the front but we were towards the back and he was just a speck. He greets people in various languages and singles out special groups that have come to Rome. After the initial excitement of seeing the Pope I have to say it becomes long and rather tedious. We actually left before it was over. It felt like we were there for hours. It was probably more like an hour and a half. Even my dad got tired of it and he was very keen on seeing the Pope.

We went to the one in the square with 20,000 others. This was in 2008. The Italians get there early so they can get the seats nearest to the alleys that the Pope-mobile drives down. If I remember, it starts around 10, and we were there around 8:30,and it was pretty full then. Think his sermon ended around 10:30.

We did the Papal audience this past April and it was an all morning deal. It was outside and St Peters square was wall-to-wall people. If you don't get there about an hour ahead of time you're not going to get a good seat. Get close to the edge of a block if you want a good view of the Pope as he rides around in the Pope-Mobile before the ceremony. And then actual ceremony took about 1.5 hrs. The Pope spoke a bit but most of the ceremony was taken up by other priests welcoming various groups from their countries. It wasn't at all like a mass. Hope this helps. Zap me a private e-mail and I can share some pictures if you like. PS - it's worth the effort!

Our experience in 2006 was also outside. Definitely get there early for better views. They had jumbo tron screens set up so people could get a better view. Not like a mass at all, when the Pope spoke in different languages different groups would cheer. When we were there it took 1.5-2 hours total once the Pope Mobile started going through the crowd.

While we did not go to a Papal Audience, we received tickets to this past April's Good Friday Service with the Pope. We arrived at the Vatican 2 hours before the doors opened for the service and about 4 hours before the service even started, and the line was already half way around St. Peter's Square. I would recommend getting there early if you want a good view of the Pope. We were lucky to get special tickets with reserved seating, otherwise I doubt we would have even seen the Pope, despite getting there that early. It was a great experience but plan the whole morning, at least.

Thank you all for your insights. Unfortunately we have only 2 1/2 days in Rome. This city demands so much more time, particularly quality time. We'll plan on getting there early and hopefully grab some aisle seats. Cordiali Saluti, David