Report: Exclusive Details for Pope Benedict's visit to CUA

The student newspaper of the Catholic University of America, TheTower (which I must hasten to add has a somewhat spotty record on getting the facts straight) has published an exclusive report of the Pope's upcoming visit to the CUA campus that seems credible enough [my comments in brackets]:

Pope Benedict XVI will speak in the Pryzbyla Center on April 17. He will also visit the John Paul II Cultural Center and the Basilica.

His address will follow a meeting at the White House, Mass at the National Shrine of the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception with all U.S. Bishops and a public Mass at the new Washington Nationals Stadium in southeast Washington, D.C.

The pope, who was born Joseph Ratzinger in 1927, will speak in the Pryzbyla Great Room in front of an audience of educational representatives and specialists from every diocese in the United States. At this time the exact number of representatives is unavailable. Presidents from every Catholic university will also be invited. There is no information available on whether or not students will be invited. [My guess: they won't.]

Benedict will meet leaders from many faiths at the John Paul II Cultural Center, hold mass at the Nationals Stadium on the banks of the Anacostia River and speak at the University on the same day. [That's quite an ambitious itinerary, but not impossible.]

Rev. David O'Connell, president of the University, is convening a committee to deal with the logistics of the papal visit. All final decisions regarding the visit will be made by O'Connell, according to Victor Nakas, associate vice president for Public Affairs.

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Students may not be invited to the Pryzbla Center address, as the Great Room holds a maximum of about 1,000 people and interest in attending the event will likely be high.

The Mass at Nationals Stadium is a public event. Tickets to the public will be available for free to several area dioceses. Information on how to obtain them is not available at this point. [More on how to get your tickets to Papal events posted here.]

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O'Connell was not available for comment on the visit. Public Affairs said he will release a letter with more details about the visit at a later date. - The Tower

Classes at CUA will be cancelled on the day of the visit.

One of the CUA students made the comment to the effect that she hopes they "will be able to at least attend one function with the Pope during his visit. It would be a shame to have Pope Benedict XVI come to campus and not interact-even at a distance- with the students."

My quick response would be that, at least in previous papal trips, there is generally some time allotted before and after closed-door events for the Pope to come around and briefly greet people gathered outside. Security is sure to be tight, but there have been some wonderful impromptu words delivered by the Holy Father in these types of occasions. So don't lose heart.

As for the Pryzbyla Center - commonly known simply as "The Pryz" (see a picture) - I'm sure the CUA folks are happy for the opportunity to showcase one of their newest buildings.

Thanks to AmP reader (and CUA alum) Will Cubbedge for the tip.