The Padre Pio Foundation of America

HUGE CROWD EXPECTED FOR PADRE PIO'S CANONIZATION

VATICAN, (CWNews.com) -- The city of Rome is preparing to receive at least 500,000 pilgrims on June 16, for the canonization of Padre Pio.

Planning for the ceremony, which is based in Padre Pio's old monastery at San Giovanni Rotondo, will include the temporary installation of large-screen video displays outside the basilica of St. John Lateran, and possibly at the fields of Tor Vergata (the site of World Youth Day in 2000), to accommodate the many pilgrims who will not be able to find a place in St. Peter's Square. The organizers also plan to place video screens along the Via della Conciliazione, running from St. Peter's Square down to the banks of the Tiber River, for the overflow crowd there.

Visitors may already find it difficult to arrange for lodging in Rome during the days immediately before and after the event. Organizers admit that as rumors of the canonization date spread, thousands of rooms were reserved-- even before the formal announcement.