ROME – Young Catholics Gather for Jubilee Celebration
On Saturday, thousands of young Catholics flooded the vast fields on the outskirts of Rome, marking a significant weekend in the Vatican’s Holy Year festivities. Just last week, an enthusiastic group of young Catholics had also congregated in St. Peter’s Square for a special jubilee event.
As they made their way through cobblestone streets wearing colorful T-shirts, many prayed the rosary and sang hymns accompanied by guitars, drums, and tambourines. To shield themselves from the sun, they creatively used their flags as makeshift tarps. The atmosphere was alive with Christian rock concerts and uplifting talks, as they stood for hours at Circus Maximus, confessing to a thousand priests offering sacraments in various languages.
On Saturday, attendees started arriving at the Tor Vergata field on the east side of Rome for the highlight of their gathering, another jubilee celebration. After trekking about 5 kilometers from the nearest subway station, they passed through security, received boxed meals, set up camp with backpacks, sleeping bags, and umbrellas.
Pope Leo, elected as the first American pope in May, flew in by helicopter on Saturday night to host an all-night Q&A session before returning to the Vatican for the night and then presiding over Mass on Sunday morning.
The World Youth Day festival evokes memories of a similar gathering that took place in Rome in 2000, where St. John Paul II addressed nearly 2 million young people, describing himself as a “morning sentinel” at the dawn of the third millennium. Initially, officials had expected around 500,000 attendees for this weekend, but Leo suggested the number might swell to one million.
“It’s a bit chaotic, but that’s part of what makes Jubilee special,” commented Chloe Jobs, a 19-year-old from Lebanon. She was in Rome with a group of over 200 young members of the Vititude community, a charismatic French group. She recounted that it took them two hours to have dinner on a busy Friday night as KFC struggled to keep up with orders. Despite the inconveniences, like the bus ride from their housing that took an hour, she felt that these experiences added to the overall excitement. “I don’t think it could be any better. I was really expecting something like this,” she said, as her group sang and prayed on the steps of a church near the Vatican before heading to Tor Vergata.
There was a somber note, however, as news emerged of an 18-year-old Egyptian named Pascare Raffic, who tragically died during the pilgrimage. Pope Leo met with the group she traveled with on Saturday and expressed condolences to her family.
Fortunately, the weather has been cooperating. Italian civil protection teams prepared for heat as high as 34°C (93°F), but temperatures have stayed below 30°C (85°F).
For locals who didn’t escape the influx of visitors, navigating public transport has become tricky, with many sharing social media posts of crowded bus stops and subway platforms. Yet, not all Romans are displeased. Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni praised the enthusiasm and energy the young people brought to the city, calling it an “extraordinary festival of faith, joy, and hope.”
Lina Veddon, a local hairdresser, expressed her appreciation: “It’s wonderful to see. Many think faith and religion are difficult, but this shows it can be uplifting.” Meanwhile, another local, Verdone, opted for a longer route home to avoid the crowds but welcomed the lively spirit of the event. “You might think of it as an invasion, but it feels like a positive one,” she remarked.
