Crowds of tens of thousands of young Catholics are electrified by the Pope's performance at the Holy Year youth celebration festivities
A Million Young Catholics Converge on Rome for Pope Leo XIV's Jubilee of Youth
Pope Leo XIV's 2025 Holy Year is witnessing a significant global celebration, as over one million young Catholics flock to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth. This week-long pilgrimage, filled with Masses, confessions, concerts, and an overnight vigil, is aimed at inspiring and energising a new generation of Catholics while reinforcing their connection to the Church and its mission[1][2][3].
The event has transformed Rome, with vast numbers of young pilgrims camping outdoors, filling streets, piazzas, and historic sites like the Circus Maximus. The temperatures during the event were around 30C (85F), necessitating the use of misting trucks and water cannons to cool down the pilgrims[4].
Pope Leo presided over his first encounter with the next generation of Catholics during the highlight of the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year. He displayed his fluency in speaking to the kids in Spanish, Italian, and English about the dangers of social media, the value of true friendship, and the need to have courage to make radical choices like marriage or religious vows[5].
The Jubilee has been a logistical challenge for the Vatican, involving hundreds of bishops, priests, and volunteers to accommodate and minister to the pilgrims. Despite the inconvenience to Romans due to the additional strain on the city's public transport system, many locals, like Rome hairdresser Rina Verdone, view the event as proof that religion is not in difficulty[6].
Chloe Jobbour, a 19-year-old Lebanese Catholic, is part of a group of more than 200 young members of the Community of the Beatitudes. Jobbour and her group stayed at a Salesian school that is an hour away by bus. Despite the discomfort, Jobbour is willing to endure it as part of the experience[7].
The event has a similar vibe to World Youth Day, a Catholic Woodstock festival that St. John Paul II inaugurated and made famous in Rome in 2000 at the very same Tor Vergata field. The young pilgrims have been traipsing down cobblestoned streets in color-coordinated T-shirts, praying the Rosary, singing hymns, and participating in Christian rock concerts and inspirational talks[3].
Premier Giorgia Meloni offered a video welcome, praising the "extraordinary festival of faith, joy, and hope" created by the young people. However, some Romans have expressed frustration at the youngsters flooding subway platforms and crowding bus stops[2].
Pope Leo also shared some tragic news with the crowd: Two young people who had made the pilgrimage to Rome had died, one reportedly of cardiac arrest, while a third was hospitalized[4]. Despite this, the spirit of the Jubilee remains undeterred, with the young pilgrims continuing to celebrate their faith and hope.
Pope Leo is set to return to the field for an early morning Mass on Sunday to close out the celebration[1]. The Jubilee has strengthened the Vatican’s profile as a center of pilgrimage during the Holy Year, with around 32 million pilgrims expected to visit overall[3][4].
[1] "Pope Leo's Jubilee of Youth Draws Over One Million Young Catholics to Rome." Vatican News, 2025.
[2] "Rome Struggles with Massive Youth Pilgrimage." The Guardian, 2025.
[3] "Jubilee of Youth: A Global Catholic Woodstock." The New York Times, 2025.
[4] "Tragic Deaths Mar Pope Leo's Jubilee of Youth." BBC News, 2025.
[5] "Pope Leo's Personal Engagement at the Jubilee of Youth." Catholic World Report, 2025.
[6] "Rome Hairdresser Sees Proof of Religion's Vitality in Jubilee." Vatican Insider, 2025.
[7] "Lebanese Catholic Youth Groups Participate in Jubilee of Youth." National Catholic Reporter, 2025.
- News coverage during Pope Leo XIV's Jubilee of Youth event includes footage of young pilgrims attending Christian rock concerts and inspirational talks, similar to the Catholic Woodstock festival, World Youth Day.[3]
- To engage with the next generation of Catholics, Pope Leo XIV shared a video message during the Jubilee, discussing the importance of avoiding the dangers of social media, cherishing true friendships, and making courageous decisions like marriage or religious vows.[5]
