Pope Benedict XVI. celebrates mass at the Olympiastadion Berlin

Joachim E. Thomas, Chief Executive Officer of the Olympiastadion Berlin GmbH, is excited about the choice of location for the holy mass: “The infrastructure that is already in place here for major events, the superb connection to the short-range public transportation, the possibility of seating 70.000 people underneath a roof and offer everyone a great view of the Holy Father – these are all powerful arguments that speak for the Olympiastadion Berlin.”

Another advantage in the stadium chief’s opinion: “The Olympiastadion is not very dominant in its impression. The architecture is not the main character. In a sold out stadium, Pope Benedict XVI. will attract all of the attention at all times – it is never the backdrop.”

The next step in the process is the detail planning now. “This is a process that is going to a process that needs to be worked on together with the church, the event organizer and the local authorities in the next few weeks.“, said Thomas. „We are already sure that the result will be a wholly successful event not just on site – inspiring images from Berlin will go out to all Catholics in the world.“

It is still possible to register for the mass at the Olympiastadion Berlin on September 22, 2011 via the internet portal www.papst-in-deutschland.de. According to the archdiocese Berlin, 50.000 people have already taken advantage of the registration plattform or have registered through their perishes.

Press / Media:
For accreditations or media inquiries please contact:

Archiepiscopal ordinariate
Press office
Niederwallstr. 8-9
10117 Berlin
Phone: 030 32684-136
Fax: 030 32684-7136
presse@erzbistumberlin.de
www.erzbistumberlin.de

An accreditation tool will be available on the website
www.papst-in-deutschland.de starting in mid-June.