The numbers attending Knock Shrine in county Mayo for the Pope's visit will only be a fraction of the number that attended back in 1979.
Tickets are free but have been restricted to 45,000 around the Shrine.
In 1979 when Pope John Paul the second visited Knock around 400,000 people were able to attend but this is a totally different era of security and numbers have been restricted.
Parish Priest of Knock Shrine Fr. Richard Gibbons says there will be huge demand for the precious 45,000 tickets to see Pope Francis at Knock Shrine when he arrives on the morning of the 26th of August:
[audio mp3="https://img.oceanfm.ie/prod/uploads/2018/06/fr-gibbons-tickets.mp3"][/audio]
Knock is the only place outside of Dublin that the Pope will visit and Fr. Gibbons says it's a big deal:
[audio mp3="https://img.oceanfm.ie/prod/uploads/2018/06/Fr.-Gibbons-good-news.mp3"][/audio]
But security will be tight and he says all of the different authorities are working to make this event a huge success:
[audio mp3="https://img.oceanfm.ie/prod/uploads/2018/06/fr-gibbons-security.mp3"][/audio]
These people in Sligo town told Ocean FM News this week what they think of the Pope coming to the West of Ireland:
[audio mp3="https://img.oceanfm.ie/prod/uploads/2018/06/Pope-Vox-SHORT.mp3"][/audio]
