Registration is now open for people wishing to attend the public Holy Mass to be celebrated by Pope Francis during his historic visit to Bahrain next month.
The liturgical service will be held at the Bahrain National Stadium in Riffa on November 5 at 8.30am.
Under the title ‘How to Apply for a Ticket to the Papal Mass’, the website specially set up for the November 3-6 visit, bahrainpapalvisit.org, yesterday outlined the procedure to be followed according to the country and category:
- In Bahrain, the parishioners of Sacred Heart Church and Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral, Awali, who belong to the major language communities, receive tickets through their respective communities.
- The parishioners of Sacred Heart Church and Our Lady of Arabia Cathedral, Awali, whose native language is not among the main parish communities, will have to fill the General Category Form.
- Those who belong to the parishes of Kuwait and Qatar should contact their respective parishes.
- In Saudi Arabia, the tickets will be distributed through the Catholic communities in the major cities.
- The faithful of the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA) in the UAE and Oman can submit their applications by visiting its website.
- Those residing outside the countries of the Arabian Peninsula (Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the UAE, Oman and Yemen) will have to fill an international participants form.
The deadline for applying is Saturday.
The registration form for different categories requires the applicant to fill in his or her personal details, number of years they have been associated with their parish, special needs, etc.
“Once we receive your application, a special committee appointed by both the parishes will review and verify your details and contact you accordingly,” states the form.
The GDN reported yesterday that seats are limited and a quota system has been adopted to issue tickets.
Tokens will be sent to a small representation from different sectors and categories.
Those who receive these tokens and have submitted their contact details will be registered on a special portal, after which they will receive details by email on how to receive their entry ticket.
The 85-year-old Pontiff is set to become the first-ever head of the Roman Catholic Church to visit the kingdom when he arrives on November 3 and stays until November 6.
The visit, at the invitation of His Majesty King Hamad, comes after he visited the Pope in 2014.
Most of the papal events are by invitation only or closed-door functions except for the public Holy Mass on November 5.
For more information visit bahrainpapalvisit.org, www.sacredheartchurchbahrain.org or contact the call centre on 32287172, 32327172 and 32027172 from 9am to 1.30pm and 3pm to 5.30pm.
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