Over 500,000 young Catholics from 146 nations flooded Rome’s Tor Vergata field on Saturday for the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year Youth Jubilee, a vibrant festival of faith culminating in an evening vigil, overnight campout, and Sunday Mass led by Pope Leo XIV. The first American pope, elected in May, arrived by helicopter for a Q&A session, returning Sunday for a popemobile tour and Mass. The event, evoking World Youth Day’s spirit, saw pilgrims in colorful t-shirts praying, singing hymns with guitars and bongos, and confessing at Circus Maximus to 1,000 priests in multiple languages.

The week-long celebration, part of the Vatican’s Holy Year expecting 32 million pilgrims, began with 120,000 youths cheering Leo’s surprise popemobile appearance in St. Peter’s Square on July 29. Pilgrims walked 5 km from subway stations, braving heat with 5 million water bottles and 2,660 hydration stations provided. Despite a tragic loss—an 18-year-old Egyptian, Pascale Rafic, died during the pilgrimage—the event’s energy remained high. Chloe Jobbour, a 19-year-old Lebanese pilgrim, embraced the chaos, saying, “This is what makes the Jubilee special.”

Rome faced logistical strains, with 4,300 stewards, 43 ambulances, and 2,760 portable toilets deployed. Locals, like hairdresser Rina Verdone, welcomed the “positive invasion” despite transport disruptions, noting the renewed faith it brought. Premier Giorgia Meloni praised the “festival of joy.” The Jubilee, echoing St. John Paul II’s 2000 World Youth Day at Tor Vergata, underscores the Church’s vibrant future.

Also Read: Vatican’s Solar Leap to Carbon Neutrality

Also Read: Pope Leo XIV Marks 50th Anniversary of Helsinki Accords, Calls for Renewed Diplomacy