Vatican Insider 090323 Special Edition Making Of A Papal Trip

As you know, Pope Francis this weekend is in Mongolia, his 43rd apostolic trip abroad. In what is normally the interview segment of VI, I’ve prepared a Special about papal trips – telling the story of the behind the scenes preparations that go into such a massive undertaking! How does the Pope decide when and where he should travel? Who gets involved in the early plans? The later plans? Some of the main issues in preparing a trip: security, liturgical events and sites, the papal residence, preparing tickets for papal events, procuring greater numbers of vestments, chalices, etc, for a Mass (after all, the Eucharistic is the heart of any papal trip).