The Catholic Traveler

08/05/2026

Many of those scandalized that a band played ABBA before the Papal Audience the other day loved that YMCA was played before the first Papal Angelus one year ago. Selective outrage strikes again. Also, here’s your frequent reminder that the Vatican has literally nothing to do with what visiting choirs and bands play in the piazza before audiences and the Angelus.

12/04/2026

Happy Divine Mercy Sunday! Many don’t realize the original image (pic one) is in Vilnius, Lithuania. The more famous one is in Krakow, Poland. I love to visit them both! Have you seen the original?

06/04/2026

I shared a similar video Saturday night, but have now added a follow up to show that even well into the Mass, there were still tons of empty seats. The reason is not that people do not want to attend, it’s because of poor organization. Tickets are free and can be requested thought the Vatican. Tickets are required because the church can only hold so many people. The line to get in is poorly marked and chaotic. Those without tickets line up anyway. Those with tickets can wait hours. Shortly before Mass began, people without tickets were allowed in, while those with tickets were still stuck in line. Because people without tickets are often tourists, they took their photos and left. So lots of people with tickets were never able to get in.

05/04/2026

04/04/2026

Happy Easter!

04/04/2026

These are the empty seats 22 minutes before the biggest Papal Mass of the year begins in Saint Peter’s Basilica. It’s not about people not wanting to come but rather not able to pick up tickets or get in because the lines are so unorganized.

04/04/2026

Cardinal Sarah getting a little chatty leaving, so the Swiss Guard had to make a slight adjustment. 😅

This was after Pope Leo’s Good Friday service in the Vatican.

04/04/2026

Today *is* Holy Saturday, so Saint Peter’s Basilica is closing early today. But my statement stands, the process to enter the basilica is broken.

Even on slow days, the pay to skip the line - line can take an hour. The prayer entrance we had for a few years is all but gone. So either you wait up to two hours to get in, or you pay to wait about an hour to get in. If you are coming for prayer (Mass, Confession, Adoration) you basically merge into the pay line. I should mention that everything is also poorly labeled.

The relatively new pay to skip the line access is €7 per person and can be booked directly through the official Saint Peter’s Basilica website.

The scammy skip the line places that so many “influencers” push for their kick backs, charge €25 for the exact same line. Those companies also prowl about the crowd outside the piazza preying on the poor people who did not plan ahead. They of course do not mention to them they can simply go on the basilica website to book the same ticket for a third of the price while waiting in line. 😡

I know some will say you can bypass all this with a Vatican Museums tour, but that is not true all the time AND there are many people who want to visit the basilica multiple times while they are in Rome.

This isn’t a museum, it’s an active church where people come to pray.

What is the solution? Oftentimes you can still access the church with no wait at 7 am. That’s always been the best time to go. Sometimes coming later in the day works too.

03/04/2026

The Passion of the Lord at the Vatican on Good Friday.