By Carol Glatz, Catholic News Service
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — More than half a million young people from 146 countries are set to arrive July 28 for the start of the weeklong Jubilee of Youth, which will include a special Jubilee dedicated to Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers.
However, at least 1 million people are expected to attend the final Mass Aug. 3 with Pope Leo XIV in Rome’s Tor Vergata neighborhood, site of the historic World Youth Day during that Holy Year in 2000. More than 2 million people participated in that Mass.
While 68% of attendees will be from Europe, young people will be coming from four other continents and from war zones and areas of serious conflict, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, a pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, said July 23.
“Essentially, this moment of celebration and joy also aims to embrace all young people around the world, indicating that it will be a genuine moment of peace and peace-building in the world,” he said at a Vatican news conference.
“I am thinking in particular of the Christian young people of Ukraine, the Middle East, Syria, Gaza and Iran,” said Lamberto Giannini, Rome’s prefect, who coordinates maintaining law and order in the city.
The seven-day event during the Jubilee of hope will be “in communion with all of them, because it is for them above all that hope is offered today, and not just any hope, but as we have been taught, the hope that does not disappoint,” he said.
The Vatican news conference featured representatives of the Italian national, regional and local governments, as well as police and civil protection authorities.
They provided many details about what is slated to be the largest of all the jubilee celebrations scheduled for the Holy Year, which has drawn nearly 17 million people so far, the archbishop said.
The high points will be walking through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica, and the Aug. 2 evening prayer vigil and Aug. 3 Mass with Pope Leo XIV in Rome’s Tor Vergata residential neighborhood, which lies about eight miles southeast of the city center.
The week will also feature about 70 cultural, artistic and spiritual events — organized by multiple bishops’ conferences and Catholic groups and associations — throughout the city, including the exposition of the relics of Blesseds Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis for veneration.
There will be an opportunity Aug. 1 for participants to receive the sacrament of reconciliation at Rome’s Circus Maximus, where more than 1,000 priests will take turns throughout the day offering confession in multiple languages, Archbishop Fisichella said.
The main events at Tor Vergata will begin on stage after 2 p.m. Aug. 2 with presentations, then entertainment featuring the Spanish dancer Sergio Bernal Alonso and numerous bands such as Matt Maher, Il Volo and The Sun.
Pope Leo will arrive by helicopter for the prayer vigil at 8:30 p.m. and three young people — from the United States, Mexico and Italy — will ask the pope questions in their respective languages.
After camping out on the grounds of the venue, young people will celebrate Mass the next morning with the pope, who “always gives a mandate, that is, he sends the young people on a mission,” Archbishop Fisichella said.
The city has refurbished the giant open-air venue for the vigil and Mass, including three recommended routes participants will walk to get there. While bus, train and subway services will all be beefed up, people will have to walk the last three miles on foot, he said.
Stations will be set up all along the routes offering assistance and water, but pilgrims are being asked to make sure they have comfortable shoes, a hat, sunscreen and a plastic water bottle for refills, and to label their items and not bring valuables.
With past experience as their guide, scores of embassies and consulates in Rome have been contacted to prepare them to help expedite services for their citizens, said Fabio Ciciliano, head of the country’s civil protection department. Thousands of passports and ID cards were lost during World Youth Day in Rome in 2000.
There will be 2,660 stations for drinking water, more than 2,700 chemical toilets and many services for the disabled, including a special “quiet” area at the venue.
Four large mist cannons, which are normally used to control dust during demolitions and can shoot water as far as 100 yards, will be positioned throughout the venue to cool people. Dozens of mobile units with smaller cannons will also make the rounds, spraying mist to offer relief in the expected heat. Temperatures typical for this time of year are in the low 90s.
Registered pilgrims will be getting one food package at Tor Vergata Aug. 2 after they go through security, providing dinner for that night and breakfast and lunch the next day. Gluten-free meals will also be available.
“We hope they’re not so hungry that they’ll eat the breakfast and lunch for dinner, too,” the archbishop said, suggesting attendees bring extra food with them.
He encouraged participants to download the special pilgrims’ guide at https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo/GrandiEventi/Giubileo-dei-Giovani/vademecum.html and to download the official app, Iubilaeum25.
The Dicastery for Communication released the Vatican Vox app, which will offer simultaneous translations in five languages at Vatican-sponsored jubilee events, and Vatican Radio will provide translations and commentary in eight languages.
The city’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, encouraged people to connect with their AI assistant, Julia, who speaks 80 languages, on WhatsApp, Messenger, Telegram and the web.
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