from ajc: You may need a miracle to find an affordable room in Rome the weekend of Pope John Paul II’s beatification ceremony. Or maybe there’s a miracle in the making. The Vatican travel agency for pilgrimages said prices on rooms might tumble in the coming weeks because predictions of upward of 1 million people pouring into this city for the May 1 event could scare off potential hotel guests. Others might resist the temptation to take a Roman holiday after complaints about sixfold increases in hotel prices and Vatican warnings about unscrupulous agents hawking services on the Internet to procure “tickets” for the beatification. There are no tickets. The Vatican decided it will be first come, first served, for visitors securing a place in St. Peter’s Square for the elaborate ceremony to mark the last formal step before possible sainthood for the beloved pontiff.