From Rome Reports today comes the fascinating story of the Teo family, who journeyed from their native Singapore to spend less than 24 hours at the Vatican, praying with Pope Francis.
Journeying to the Vatican to Pray with the Pope
This video also features the Becerril family, pilgrims from Mexico, who traveled to spend four days in Rome. Catholic tourist Ana Becerril shares in the video that the honor of praying with Pope Francis was worth the effort and expense of the trip.
While I was unable to find exact numbers for total tourists visiting the Vatican each year, Wikipedia totals the number of guests to the Vatican Museums in excess of 4 million each year. Many of those who go to Rome endeavor to participate in the Holy Father’s Wednesday audience. For travelers like the Teo family, this once in a lifetime pilgrimage is worth all of the time, expense and effort. But in today’s digital age, we’re blessed to be able to journey to Saint Peter’s Square via streaming technology to attend such events online. Still, there’s nothing like being physically present with the Pope.
Your ticket: Have you ever visited the Vatican? What was your journey like? Were you able to attend an audience with the Pope?
About Lisa M. Hendey
