Francis draws 6.6m to Vatican events

More than 6.6m people attended events with Pope Francis at the Vatican from his election in March to the end of 2013, compared to 2.3m for former Pope Benedict in all of 2012.

The Vatican said the figures were based on the number of tickets issued for papal events where they are needed, such as general audiences, Masses, and private audiences.

They were also based on estimates of the number of people at events where tickets are not needed, such as his weekly appearance from a window overlooking St Peter’s Square.

The Vatican did not issue comparative figures but figures released on Jan 4, 2013, showed that some 2.3m people attended all events presided by Benedict in 2012.

Benedict, citing health reasons, resigned from his position on Feb 28, becoming the first pope in 600 years to do so rather than ruling for life.

Figures released last month, which were limited to the number of people who attended weekly general audiences, showed that Francis had drawn around four times as many people in nine and a half months of 2013 than Benedict had in all of 2012. Francis was elected on Mar 13.