Last year more than two million people participated in public meetings with the Pope. This is reported by the l'Osservatore Romano on the basis of data provided by the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household.
Based upon "approximate numbers" calculated, when possible, by the requests for tickets to participate in meetings, it appears that there were a total of 2,351,200 people who participated in the Pope's public events: 447,000 at the 43 general audiences; 146,800 at special hearings; 501,000 at various liturgical celebrations presided by Benedict XVI; and about 1,256,000 at the Angelus in St. Peters Square or at Castel Gandolfo.
In total, from when Joseph Ratzinger was elected Pope in 2005 to today, there were 20,544,970 pilgrims who attended meetings with him at the Vatican or at Castel Gandolfo.