Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics from 146 countries, including several from conflict zones such as Lebanon, Iraq, Myanmar, Ukraine, Syria and South Sudan, are converging on Rome from Saturday to Sunday. The weekend includes an evening vigil, an outdoor slumber party and a Sunday morning Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV.
Italian news reports estimated the crowd could reach as high as 1 million, with about 68% of participants coming from Europe. The event at Tor Vergata field, on the eastern edge of Rome, marked Pope Leo’s first major encounter with the next generation of Catholics.
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Pilgrims set up campsites on the grass in front of Tor Vergata in anticipation of the papal Mass, while misting trucks and water cannons were used to help beat the nearly 85-degree heat.
For the past week, groups of young people in color-coordinated shirts could be seen throughout Rome, praying, singing and celebrating their faith in the city’s historic piazzas. The festivities included Christian rock concerts, inspirational talks and a unique opportunity for confession at Circus Maximus, where 1,000 priests heard confessions in a dozen languages.
The Jubilee, which takes place once every 25 years, is expected to draw as many as 32 million pilgrims to the Vatican throughout the Holy Year.
“It’s something spiritual that you can experience only every 25 years,” Francisco Michel, a pilgrim from Mexico, told the Associated Press. “As a young person, having the chance to live this meeting with the pope, I feel it is a spiritual growth.”
Pope Leo arrived by helicopter and greeted the crowd in his popemobile before returning to the Vatican for the night. He is scheduled to return to celebrate Mass at dawn Sunday, a gathering emphasizing the ongoing importance of faith, unity and spiritual renewal for Catholics worldwide.
Pope enjoys Chicago pizza delivered to Rome by young Catholics
Pope Leo XIV’s affinity for the Chicago White Sox and Chicago-style pizza inspired a group of young Catholics from Ohio to orchestrate an ambitious delivery. They managed to deliver his favorite pizza from Chicago to Rome.
Despite “very little money and inside connections to the pope or the Vatican,” Jayden Remias tells WGN-TV, the group managed to complete the delivery. The effort was described as “an act of faith.”
Madeline Daley, a member of the group, packed the pizza in dry ice and transported it to St. Peter’s Square. She held up a sign, “the pontiff couldn’t resist.” The plan appeared to work when Daley overheard the pope instructing his security guards, “I want the pizza! Please give me the pizza!”
WGN confirmed with the pope’s brother, John Prevost, that the pontiff ate all of the six-inch Aurelio’s pepperoni pizza.
