Over 3 million saw Pope at Vatican events in 2015
December 30, 2015
Over 3 million people attended public appearances by Pope Francis in 2015, the Vatican has announced.
On December 30, as the Holy Father held his final weekly public audience of the year, the Prefecture of the Papal Household released figures for attendance at the Pope’s audiences and liturgical celebrations.
The Pope’s general audiences, held on Wednesdays, drew 704,100 people. Special audiences attracted another 408,760. Midday audiences on Sundays and feast days added another 1,585,000. And the congregations at liturgical ceremonies in St. Peter’s basilica and St. Peter’s Square came to 513,000.
These figures cover only the Pope’s appearances at the Vatican. Not included are the crowds that saw him during his trips. In 2015, he traveled to Sri Lanka, the Philippines, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Cuba, the United States, Kenya, Uganda ,and the Central African Republic. Also not included are papal trips to parishes in the Rome diocese, or to other dioceses in Italy.
The numbers for 2015 are down substantially from the previous year, when over 5.9 million people saw Pope Francis at the Vatican, and 2013, when the figure was 6.6 million.
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