The number 6,000 sounds like a lot — but when divided among 48
parishes, three schools and a few specialty groups, it quickly dwindles.
That’s what it’s been like for the 6,000 tickets given to the Arlington
Diocese for the April 17 Papal Mass at Nationals Stadium. Though there haven’t
been enough tickets for everyone who wanted one, the number of tickets allocated
to Arlington was more than any other diocese in the country — other than
the hosting Archdiocese of Washington, according to diocesan Chancellor Mark
Herrmann.
Washington retained 16,000 tickets to be distributed to representatives of their
parishes and missions. The Archdiocese of Baltimore was allotted 2,500 and the
Diocese of Richmond 400.
According to Herrmann, some of Arlington’s allotment was set aside for
specific groups, such as seminarians, permanent deacons, men and women religious,
and Catholic campus ministries at high schools and colleges. The rest were divided
among the parishes based on their populations.
“That seemed to be the most fair way to do it,” Herrmann said. Each
parish, however, received a minimum of 10 tickets “so that even the smallest
parishes could participate in this Mass in a meaningful way,” he added.
In the same spirit of fairness, most parishes and schools organized random lotteries
to distribute their allotted number of tickets.
“The pastors and parish administrators were asked to determine a fair method
of distributing tickets, given the particular circumstances of their parishes,” Herrmann
said. “A random drawing or lottery was suggested as one possible way
of doing this.”
Father Donald C. Greenhalgh, pastor of St. Ann Parish in Arlington, took the
suggestion and held a lottery for the parish’s 40 tickets.
“We probably received three times the number of requests for seats than
we had,” he said. “We literally picked names out of two piles” — one
for single tickets and another for pairs.
For those who didn’t receive tickets, Father Greenhalgh said the parish
will show the Mass on a large projection screen and provide coffee and bagels.
“People have really jumped on that,” he said. “It’s more
fun in a group than it would be sitting at home by yourself.”
Each of the diocesan high schools was given 55 tickets. Dick Martin, principal
at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, said the lottery seemed to
be the “smartest and fairest thing to do” with their portion.
Those students interested submitted their names and were notified after a drawing.
Their names were then submitted to the diocese. Herrmann stressed that every
single person — including children and infants — must have his or
her own ticket to gain access to the stadium.
Amy Fitzgibbons, a parishioner from St. Charles Borromeo Church in Arlington,
has hers. Fizgibbons said winning the lottery seemed “like a long shot,” but
win she did.
“I think that it is inspiring that so many people want to, and will, attend
the Mass to worship together with the pope,” she said.
Gretchen R. Crowe can be reached at gcrowe@catholicherald.com.
Papal Mass
Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate Mass at Nationals Park in Washington,
D.C., April 17 at 10 a.m.
For more information about the papal visit to the U.S. go to uspapalvisit.org.
