Attendance at Pope events up in 2009 - Vatican

More than two million people took part in events presided over by Pope Benedict XVI last year, an increase of several thousand on the number of the previous year, the Vatican announced. Some 2,243,900 people took part in various Masses, prayers and...

More than two million people took part in events presided over by Pope Benedict XVI last year, an increase of several thousand on the number of the previous year, the Vatican announced.

Some 2,243,900 people took part in various Masses, prayers and audiences with the Pope last year, the Vatican said in a statement. This was about 29,000 higher than for 2008, it said.

The figures were only for public events at the Vatican and the Pope's summer residence at Castel Gandolfo, just outside Rome, it said.

According to the i.media information agency that covers the Vatican, the rise is the first in attendance figures since the 82-year-old became head of the Roman Catholic Church on April 19, 2005.

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.