As I sat in church this evening, I was so thankful that I didn't need a ticket to be there.

The article is over ten years old but I heard on the radio this evening that the practice still stands.

"An Easter Ticket That Can't Be Had by Faith Alone" - The New York Times, 4/7/96:

The tickets are free, but for those who want them, they are priceless.

There are only 4,200 available spaces (including about 1,000 in standing-room areas) at the midmorning Easter Mass at St. Patrick's Cathedral -- not a lot, considering that for some people the cathedral is the place to be on Easter morning. Admission is by ticket only.

[T]he rector, said the cathedral draws so many people because it is "a spiritual oasis." Some 20,000 people will enter its grand double doors today for eight Masses between 7 A.M. and 5:30 P.M.