Catholic Brides and Grooms: Papal blessings

I'm not Catholic but I wish I could get this. I do really like Pope Francis.

Hmm, I just leave that blank!

You don't send any money, just fax it or mail it in and if they have questions, they will write you back.

Then they ask for a donation that covers the parchment and postage.

Oh and I buy a simple frame on Amazon as it arrives rolled up.

He is very popular with many people, Jacqui!

We're actually going to Italy for our honeymoon and are hoping to get an in-person blessing. We realize this is a long shot, but we're going to work through our diocese to see if we can make it happen. I know two people that have connections to the Vatican that could possibly make it happen for us. FH went through the annulment process so getting this extra blessing after everything mentally he went through would truly be special.

This is probably an incredibly stupid question but I'm tired so what the hell...do you have to be getting married in your church to receive the blessing? I was literally just thinking how cool something like this would be, but I would assume a church wedding would be a requirement?

Tina do you know how long it takes to get? I want to get one for a future Godchild.

Tina, do you list your own church or the recipient's church for the name of the church/parish?

I had seen a different link where you had to have the priest certify that you are a current practicing member of the parish. This form looks a little different.

Audrey, that would be wonderful! http://www.papalaudience.org/

Nicole, it would have to be a Catholic church

Nicolita, it takes a few weeks at most.

Jacqui, it is where the wedding is taking place.

Right that's what I thought lol. I'm Catholic, but due to a long list of circumstances will be marrying outside the church. Worth a shot I guess. It's pretty cool that this is available.

@Audrey- Good luck!!

Nicole, you may be able to get it if you get your marriage convalidated

That's really cool! I wish I had done that. I did have a rosary blessed by Pope Francis wrapped around my bouquet as my something blue

You can still request one Nicole!

Thanks Tina! I sent the link onto FH. Fingers crossed!!

@Tina- Oh really? That'll be something to look into. I don't know much about that process but I knew it was something I wanted to look into and do after the wedding. Thanks!

@Nicole- That sounds beautiful!

Maybe I'll have it done for our 1st anniversary.

@Nicole-it was my something blue

I used to live in Rome, and papal audiences are EASY to get into. It's the special nuptial blessing audiences, with only a few dozen couples, that are hard. For papal audiences, they hand out thousands of tickets at a time and you go into big holding pens in the square outside St Peters while he drives around in the pope-mobile. He does bless you and everything on you, which is cool - there's always street sellers hawking cheap rosaries that you can take in then give at home as gifts 'blessed by the pope'! But it's rare you get close enough to see him well.

Audrey, when is your honeymoon? If in summer, go well prepared for the heat - the good spots for the general audience are at the big crossing in the center of the piazza, right where he drives by. But you have to get there hours in advance and wait in full sun on hot cobblestones to get that far up.

If you want to do something really cool that IS hard to get into, try to get tickets to the excavations under St Peter's...it gets you as close as possible to the spot that may have been St Peter's tomb, and some really cool Roman ruins. http://www.scavi.va/content/scavi/en.html

My mom did this for us and it was very sweet!!! We haven't hung it up yet because we're moving next month, but we plan on finding a lovely place to hang it with a few wedding portraits. I love it!

Emilyg, a friend of my dad's took us there (he worked there) and it was FASCINATING!

Hi Lori! xox