NEW YORK -- Pope Benedict XVI will celebrate mass at Yankee Stadium on Sunday, taking center stage of an iconic structure that has been referred to both as a great cathedral and as hallowed ground.

Gates will open at 9 a.m. ET, with pre-mass festivities beginning at noon and the formal mass beginning at 2:30 p.m. Tickets have already been distributed through the Archdiocese of New York and its many parishes for the approximately 2 1/2 hour ceremony, and there are no tickets available at Yankee Stadium for the mass.

Stage construction will begin immediately following the Yankees' game on Thursday against the Red Sox and will continue up to the event. The altar will be set up over second base and the Vatican's colors will cover the pitcher's mound.

"The visit by His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI is wonderful for New York, our nation and indeed the world," Yankees principal owner George M. Steinbrenner said in a statement. "His message of brotherhood rings loud and clear. We welcome him to Yankee Stadium with respect, reverence and enthusiasm."

The visit marks the third time a Pope has celebrated mass at Yankee Stadium, a record for any single venue in the United States. Pope Paul VI delivered the first Mass by a Roman pontiff in the United States on Oct. 4, 1965, at the Stadium, and Pope John Paul II celebrated mass in the Bronx on Oct. 2, 1979.

Pope Benedict XVI arrived at Andrews Air Force Base in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday and celebrated mass at the new Nationals Park in Washington on Thursday. The Pope will travel to New York on Friday, arriving at John F. Kennedy International Airport. On Sunday, Benedict is scheduled to visit Ground Zero in Lower Manhattan before arriving at Yankee Stadium at 2:15 p.m. and traveling around the warning track in the Popemobile prior to mass.

The Pope's schedule prompted the Yankees to modify their 2008 schedule, creating a situation where they will play 18 of 20 games on the road in April. Barring any changes to the schedule, the total would be the most road games by any team in the month in Major League history.

The Yankees will be in Baltimore playing the final game of a three-game series with the Orioles on Sunday when the Pope begins to speak.

"I wish I would have been here," Yankees manager Joe Girardi said. "I would like to see the Pope, but we have business in Baltimore. It's pretty special for our country and for the city of New York to be able to go through this."