THE visit of Pope Francis to Dublin next summer will cost €20 million, according to Archbishop of Dublin Diarmuid Martin.
The Pope’s visit will take place sometime around the end of August.
Archbishop Martin, who was speaking to RTE’s Today where he told Sean O’ Rourke that €5 million has already been raised for the visit through church collections and that much more is expected to be collected to meet the cost.
“I’m very anxious that families coming to the Phoenix Park will not incur costs.”
However, he has not ruled out a Vatican contribution. When asked about a contribution from the State, he said that he believes the State will look at the visit of the Pope the same as they would any other distinguished visitor, just like they did with Queen Elizabeth and President Barack Obama.
Archbishop Martin also pointed out that the Pope likes to visit prisons wherever he visits: “It is something he feels very strongly about.”
He also suggested that the Pope would be very interested in the work of Brother Kevin in the Capuchin Day Centre for Homeless people.
When asked if mass protests were expected he said that people are entitled to protest. When the last World Meeting of Families was held in Philadelphia the American security was “ludicrous”.
The Archbishop also confirmed that Pope Francis will say Sunday mass at Phoenix Park.
"There will be no side agendas, there will be a number of events - a three-day conference in the RDS about family values, on the Saturday evening there will be, presumably in Croke Park, a festival of families, there will be a celebration of families, with musicians and speakers.
"On the Sunday there will be a final mass, presumably in the Phoenix Park.”
When Pope John Paul II visited in 1979, over one million people attended the open-air mass in Phoenix Park.
Archbishop Martin declined to estimate how many will go to Pope Francis’ mass.
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