A guide to Pope Benedict XVI Birmingham visit

Pope Benedict XVI will be visiting the UK during September 2010

Pope Benedict XVI will visit Birmingham as part of a four day visit to the UK.

The Pope will lead a public open-air Mass in Birmingham's Cofton Park on Sunday 19th September 2010.

Public guidelines have been put in place by organisers of the papal visit to ensure as many people as possible can see the Pope.

Safety and security will be the main priority during the high profile Birmingham visit.

COFTON PARK PUBLIC MASS EVENT INFORMATION

How to attend

Raffles and draws will be held by Catholic churches to decide who attends the Pope's Mass in Birmingham if demand is high, say organisers.

About 14,000 of some 70,000 tickets have been allocated to the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Birmingham for Pope Benedict XVI's visit in September.

Over 65,000 people are expected at the open-air mass at Cofton Park

To attend the public Mass Cofton Park on Sunday, 19 September you will need to send your email address and/or postal address to your local parish priest as soon as possible. Your priest will then get in touch with their local diocesan papal visit co-ordinator and arrange for you to join a parish pilgrim group.

If the allocated number of tickets is exceeded names will be drawn out at random.

Each diocese in England and Wales has appointed a local co-ordinator as the key channel for passing on information on how people can attend the public Mass events that will take place during Pope Benedict XVI's visit to the UK.

Group attendance ONLY

Individuals cannot attend the Crofton Park public mass without being part of a pilgrim group from a local Catholic parish. Each group will be assigned a pilgrim leader, the leader will be present at the security points and will be able to vouch for the members of the group.

Mass entrance

Each person will receive a pilgrim pack containing a pilgrim pass that will allow them entrance into Cofton Park.

Travelling to Cofton Park

Travel to Cofton Park is by coach ONLY. This is to ensure pilgrims can be accounted for easily and will also help people pass through security quickly and comfortably.

Contact your local parish priest to register your interest. They will liaise with your local diocesan papal visit co-ordinator who will then arrange a coach through the central papal visit office.

Other itinerary dates

In addition to the Cofton Park event, Pope Benedict XVI will be holding a public open-air Mass at Bellahouston Park in Glasgow on 16th September and an open air prayer vigil in London's Hyde Park on Saturday 18th September.

He will also travel the streets of Edinburgh and London in the Popemobile during his UK visit - finalised routes will be released in due course.

For more information about the Pope Benedict XVI UK visit visit the Papal UK visit website .

Pope visit on BBC WM

Stayed tuned into BBC WM 95.6FM and DAB for all the local news and information on Pope Benedict XVI visit to Birmingham.