The Vatican leaves nothing to chance. They’ve released all the prayers, readings, and even the hymns for the pope’s upcoming visit — and you can even download them.

From CWN:

The Missal covers each of the major public events on the Pope’s schedule during his visits to Washington and New York:

* Evening prayer at the national basilica of the Immaculate Conception on April 16, the day of the Pope’s arrival in Washington;
* Mass in Nationals Park in Washington on April 17;
* an ecumenical service at St. Joseph’s parish in New York on April 18;
* Mass at New York’s cathedral of St. Patrick on April 19;
* meetings later on April 19, at St. Joseph seminary, with disabled young people and with seminarians;
* a visit to Ground Zero, the site of the 9-11 terrorist attacks in New York, on April 20; and
* Mass in Yankee Stadium on April 20, the final liturgical ceremony of the papal visit.

The full 113-page document is available on the Vatican web site.

The Vatican document mentions some of the formal presentations that will be made to the Pope during his American sojourn. On April 19, for example, during his visit to the New York seminary, he will receive congratulations on the anniversary of his election as Roman Pontiff (April 19) and his 81st birthday (April 16).

The special Missal prepared by the Vatican includes the Scripture readings, texts, and prayers for Mass and the other prayer services the Pope will lead. An appendix provides the texts of some common Catholic prayers, in English and Spanish.

The Missal offers a preview of the prayer that the Pope will offer at Ground Zero, honoring those who died in the attacks on the World Trade Center. The papal prayer also explicitly remembers those who died when a 3rd plane crashed into the Pentagon, and those whose plane crashed in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. The Pope will pay tribute to the “heroic first responders” who died in the effort to save others at the World Trade Center site.

The text of the Pope’s prayer asks for God’s help in securing peace in the world, and in bringing comfort to the relatives of the terrorists’ victims. In his appeal to a compassionate God, the Pope says, “overwhelmed by the magnitude of this tragedy, we seek your light and guidance as we confront such terrible events.”