At Nationals Park, Pope Will Take Center Field

No, it's not the team's latest experiment with outfielders. It's the plan for the only public event on the pope's visit to Washington this spring, a Mass at the new ballpark.

Thousands of people have requested tickets to the event and officials with the Archdiocese of Washington say they say they want as many as possible to attend.

They considered placing the altar in the second base area but realized they could fit in an extra 40,000 seats by putting it in center field.

A plan for distributing the free tickets hasn't been announced. Spokeswoman Susan Gibbs says officials want to make sure they don't get into the hands of scalpers or wind up on eBay.

Local Catholics will play a big role in the two-hour service. Seminarians will be altar servers, and laypeople will read Scripture. Music will be provided by Washington area parish choirs.

Information from: The Washington Post

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