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Organizers of pope's visit warn of scams

Pope Francis arrives in St. Peter's Square at the Vatican in Rome on June 25, 2022. File photo by The Associated Press/Andrew Medichini

Organizers of the Pope’s visit to Canada are warning the public not to buy tickets from resellers online, saying they may not be legitimate.

Thousands of tickets for the Pope's open-air mass at Edmonton's Commonwealth Stadium were all booked about 15 minutes after they were made available to the public for free earlier in the week.

The July 26 mass with Pope Francis is part of his six-day Canadian tour, which also includes stops in Quebec City and Iqaluit.

Organizers say some tickets have shown up online for as much as $200 and the next block of tickets is expected to be available Monday.

They say it’s sad and troubling that anyone would try to resell free tickets for an event with Pope Francis as part of his pilgrimage of healing, reconciliation and hope.

Organizers of @Pontifex visit warn not to buy tickets to open-air mass from resellers. #PopeFrancis #PapalVisit #ResidentialSchools

The Pope's visit comes after he apologized in April to Indigenous delegates at the Vatican for the Roman Catholic Church’s role in Canada’s residential schools and the intergenerational trauma it caused.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published July 8, 2022.

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