Royal Randwick lined up for Pope visit on a bumper weekend for Sydney
Sydney will host the Catholic Church's International Eucharistic Congress in 2028 and Prime Minister Anthony Albanese has invited the new head of the Vatican, Pope Leo XIV, to attend.
The American pontiff is yet to take up the offer, but the church has begun devising plans in the event he does, and Royal Randwick has been discussed as a favoured site for a large-scale public gathering.
It's understood that the Saturday of the September-October long weekend that year has been raised as an option for a papal Mass in Sydney.
Such timing would force racing's $1.5 million Epsom Handicap to be relocated from Royal Randwick and potentially cause disruption around the NRL grand final, which is typically played on the first Sunday of October. It would also be the same day as the AFL grand final in Melbourne.
The church congress, which Sydney is holding in 2028 for the first time in a century, is being organised by the Catholic Archdiocese of Sydney, which said dates and venues were still to be determined.
'There have been several dates touted for the [congress], but we are keeping options open because we are excited about the potential of having Pope Leo here and will obviously work around his availability, if he accepts the invite,' said Benjamin Galea, chief operating officer for the International Eucharistic Congress.
'Estimates of pilgrim numbers and sourcing of venues will differ greatly depending on whether we get our first papal visit in 20 years, and so these early stages are planning for several different possibilities.'
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