Church 'oversubscribed' for Pope's visit to Birmingham

The Catholic Church in Birmingham said it is oversubscribed with parishioners wanting to go to next month's Papal Mass in the city.

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

Pilgrims have just three more days to apply to attend, a spokesman said.

Parishes will then decide on ways of selecting people, which could include picking names from a hat.

But the archdiocese said some people would unfortunately be left disappointed.

The archdiocese covers more than 3,000 square miles (4,827 sq km), taking in counties such as Staffordshire, Oxfordshire, Warwickshire and Worcestershire.

The Pope will hold a mass in Cofton Park to beatify Cardinal John Henry Newman.

SIC: BBC