More than two million pilgrims are expected to throng the streets of
Rome for the beatification ceremony of John Paul II on May 1, leaving
travel agencies desperate for accommodation and hotel prices soaring.
The
Vatican expects as many as two and a half million people to flock to
the ceremony, according to Cardinal Jose Saraiva Martins of the
Congregation for the Causes of Saints.
The ceremony will be led by Pope Benedict XVI in St Peter's Square, where John Paul II's funeral took place only six years ago.
"Since
the beatification announcement, bookings have exploded," said Giuseppe
Roscioli, head of Federalberghi Roma, which represents around 500 hotels
and offers around 90,000 of the capital's 150,000 beds.
Hotels
and city authorities are bracing themselves for crowds as big as the
ones that descended on the Vatican when John Paul II died on April 2,
2005, after a pontificate that spanned a quarter century.
Roscioli
said the Vatican's decision to hold the celebration on May 1
complicated matters, because it coincides with a public holiday in much
of Europe and is a peak period of tourism in Italy.
"It's like
wanting to organise an event in Monaco during the Formula One Grand
Prix. It's absurd. It's obvious that the Vatican's calendar has nothing
to do with day-to-day life," he said.
"Our hotels published this
year's prices last year, when we had no idea what date the beatification
would be. If a hotel wants to raise its prices it risks being punished
by the law," said Roscioli.
However, since the date was announced,
prices have sky-rocketed. Some two-star hotels are hoping for 330 euros
($447) a night and some four-stars are asking 1,760 euros ($2,386) for a
suite.
Specialist religious tourism agency Raptim said it has
been swamped by requests from Africa, Brazil and John Paul II's homeland
of Poland in particular.
"We have 500 people on the waiting list and we're still getting requests!" said group leader Gabriella Pandolfini.
Despite
logistical problems plaguing some pilgrims planning their trip to Rome,
excitement reigns in one of the city's most unusual watering holes, Pub
John Paul II, which opened last year in the city centre.
"John
Paul II is the saint for youth and we want this place to be a place to
remember him," said Massimo Camussi, who is organising musical evenings
and film showings at the pub in the run-up to the beatification.
The
pub first opened as a kind of permanent reminder of World Youth Day,
which was celebrated in Rome to mark the Catholic Church's Jubilee in
2000.
The Vatican has yet to publish the details for the big day,
but sources suggest a vigil may be held in Rome's Circus Maximus arena
the evening before the beatification, with a mass in St. Peter's Square
on the day.
The Vatican square will be open from midnight the
night before the ceremony and entrance to the basilica will be free for
pilgrims.
The celebrations may turn out to cost Rome's city hall
dearly though. When mourners flocked for John Paul II's funeral, the
city's cleaning bill came to eight million euros.