Rome diocese offers online help for pilgrims attending beatification of John Paul II

Are you planning to go to Rome for the May 1 Beatification celebration for Pope John Paul II and don’t know where to turn? Hotel and bed and breakfast reservations are being quickly gobbled up as Church and city authorities predict more than two million pilgrims will be descending on the Eternal City for the weekend event presided by Pope Benedict XVI.

The Vicariate of Rome’s travel organization Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi (ORP) has launched a new multi lingual website that will help visitors plan their trip to Rome for the beatification of John Paul II, the city’s bishop for 26 years.

For practical information on getting to Rome and finding and booking accommodations, pilgrims can click on http://www.operaromanapellegrinaggi.org/ or http://www.jpiibeatus.org/. The site, available in English, Italian, and Polish, will soon offer Spanish and German editions as well.

It also provides information on events planned around the beatification ceremony, real time traffic updates, and press and multimedia areas. Like Vatican Radio, the site will allow visitors to follow the major beatification events in live-streaming.

In addition, ORP offers the “Special JPII Pass” including public transportation around the city, a package lunch, a map of Rome, ORP’s double decker bus tours of Christian Rome, audio guided visits to a number of Christian sites, health coverage, and exclusive deals and discounts.

Through their website, pilgrims can also plan and reserve tours of the Vatican Museums and Rome’s four Major Basilicas. Links to external sites, including that of the canonization process and to local institutional sites are also provided.