of The Jubilee, also known as the Jubilee Year, has begun, drawing tourists to Rome, the Vatican, and all of Italy.
Pope Francis kicked off the event Tuesday by opening the Holy Doors of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican.
This sacred event for the Catholic Church is usually held every 25 years for patrons to ask for forgiveness for their sins.
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The Vatican expects more than 32 million pilgrims to travel during the Holy Year, according to the U.S. Embassy in Italy.
Pope Francis said in his letter: “I hope that the coming Jubilee will be celebrated and experienced.”
Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on Tuesday to begin the jubilee year. (Alberto Pizzoli/Pool Photo via AP)
“The spiritual dimension of the Jubilee year, which calls for conversion, should also embrace these fundamental aspects of our lives in society as part of a coherent whole. We are all pilgrims on this earth. “The Lord commands us to cultivate and preserve it in the knowledge that it is a land that is a land that is not a land,” he said.
Mountain Butorac, founder of The Catholic Traveler, an organization that guides small-group Catholic pilgrimages across Europe and the Holy Land, said some estimates suggest that as many as 39 million people will travel for the Jubilee. He told Fox News Digital that he may travel.
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“If we round down and assume these people are evenly distributed throughout the year, we're adding about 700,000 people every week,” Butorac said.
He added: “With that in mind, the biggest event of the year with the Pope is the Easter Sunday Mass, which normally draws 60,000 people.”
“People who travel to Rome come here to pass through the four holy doors,” said Mountain Butorac, founder of the Catholic Traveler newspaper. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
“People traveling to Rome come here to pass through four holy doors: one each to St. Peter, St. Paul outside the walls, St. Mary Mayor, and St. John Lateran,” Butolak said. said.
The Jubilee Year also includes specific Jubilee events related to youth, families, musicians, etc.
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The Rev. Patrick Briscoe, a Catholic priest based in Washington, D.C., told FOX News Digital that this year's Jubilee will focus on hope.
More than 32 million people are expected to travel to Italy during the Jubilee Year. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
“At a time of great anxiety, with war raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Pope declared: “Christian hope is that nothing and no one can ever separate us from the love of God.'' Because it is based on confidence, it will not deceive or disappoint.'
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He added: “This is a message every Christian should remember: Our hope in Christ will never fail, because Christ will never disappoint us.”
US Catholic priest says this Jubilee will focus on hope (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Brisco said he is particularly looking forward to the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
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The two Italian men will be formally declared saints in solemn ceremonies held during the Jubilee Year in April and August.
Acutis becomes the Catholic Church's first millennium saint. He taught himself to program and created a spiritually focused website.
A child kisses Pope Francis during his weekly general audience at the Vatican on August 21, 2024. (Reuters/Yara Nardi)
Frassati was a third-degree Dominican known for his philanthropy.
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Butolak said: “I will personally be leading several Jubilee pilgrimages around Rome, but I have already focused on the Catholic side of Rome, so other than having to navigate the crowds, , there's not much change for me.”
