New Yorkers to See Holy Father in Popemobile

By MARY ANN POUST

New Yorkers who couldn't get a ticket to a papal event during Pope Benedict XVI's upcoming visit will now have a chance to see the pontiff on the streets of Manhattan on Saturday afternoon, April 19.

Thanks to a new addition to his schedule, the pope will travel in his white Popemobile from a luncheon at Cardinal Egan's residence behind St. Patrick's Cathedral around 1:15 p.m. to the residence of the Vatican's U.N. nuncio on East 72nd Street.

"There was such an overwhelming demand for tickets in both the New York and the Washington archdioceses that the Vatican and the local ordinaries felt it appropriate for people to have another opportunity to see the Holy Father," said Mark G. Ackermann, executive director of the archdiocesan Office of the Papal Visit.

The pope will visit Washington, D.C., and New York on his historic April 15-20 U.S. visit. He will arrive in New York from the nation's capital on April 18, with an address to the United Nations as the first item on a busy agenda.

For security reasons, the official Popemobile route will not be released until shortly before the event, at the direction of the U.S. Secret Service, Ackermann said.

In Washington, Benedict will travel on city streets in the Popemobile on Wednesday, April 16, from the White House to the Apostolic Nunciature after meeting with President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush.

Created for his predecessor, Pope John Paul II, the customized, bullet-proof vehicle allows for as much visual contact as possible between the pontiff and members of the public who gather to get a glimpse of him.

Traditionally, the ordinary-or bishop of an archdiocese that is hosting the pope-rides with the visiting pontiff in the Popemobile, Ackermann said.

Cardinal Egan is the ordinary of the New York Archdiocese and Archbishop Donald W. Wuerl is his counterpart in Washington. Neither has yet announced plans in that regard, however.

Ackermann said that spectators will have a good view of the pope as the Popemobile motorcade proceeds along its route.

"They'll be able to see the Holy Father and receive his blessing," he said.

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