Showed up this morning at the media center for the papal visit, ensconced at the Westin Hotel on 14th and M streets NW, to find much anguished tearing of hair. The biggest mess was caused by the Secret Service, which for inscrutable reasons rejected many of the journalist photos emailed in on the press applications. A bunch of reporters were told by U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops staffers they were sooo sorry, but they have to schlep over to a Secret Service HQ near 18th and K to have their photos re-taken.

Helen Osman, the USCCB person overseeing the media arrangements, told me more than 5,300 journalists applied to cover the pope's six-day visit. I had to pity a number of these folks, especially the foreign ones, who were feeling their way about the hotel in a bewildered fashion. One poor soul from Venezuela was wandering about looking for the press room until I managed — in my so-so Spanish — to explain to him it's in the bowels of the hotel.

The schedule for press to be on their special buses to get to various venues on the papal tour is pretty numbing. They begin running at 2:30 a.m. Thursday for the Nationals Mass at 10 a.m. In order to cover the pope's speech to U.S. bishops at 5:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Shrine of the Immaculate Conception, I have to show up at the press center at noon.

Meanwhile at the papal nunciature on Massachusetts Avenue, the nuncio, Archbishop Pietro Sambi, was telling reporters the pope will start his day Wednesday with a private Mass for nunciature staff. There is a garden attached to the place, in which the pope will be able to take walks. The only problem: Local deer are munching on the flowers.

— Julia Duin, assistant national editor/religion, The Washington Times