At a time when Leo Millions of pilgrims flocked, one Pope succeeded another, the world experienced tremors, but Hope shone and resonated during these twelve months.
Romilda Ferrauto – Vatican City
For the second time in history, a Pope will close the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica opened by another Pope. A singularity which caused the number of presences in Rome to explode, surpassing the most optimistic forecasts. Two Popes, therefore, but the same common thread, that of Hope, Hope which does not disappoint, an inestimable virtue in this period of uncertainty, geopolitical tensions and economic and social instability. The call for peace resonated forcefully throughout the Jubilee.
The Rebibbia remand center, basilica of suffering
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In an unprecedented gesture, it was in a Roman prison that Pope Francis wanted to open the second holy door of the jubilee, the day after Christmas. Two nights earlier, he briefly got up from his wheelchair to knock on the door of St. Peter’s Basilica. A very tough ordeal for an already very weakened Pope, a striking image broadcast on television, a first in history. And, significantly, it is to the prison world that the last major event of this Holy Year was dedicated: the mass presided over by Leo XIV, on December 14, for the jubilee of the prisoners.
Jubilee Mass for Inmates (@Vatican Media)
By specific categories or diocesan pilgrimages, organized around a profession or a theme, in groups or individually, more than three million faithful walked behind the Cross, along the route set up, for the occasion, on Avenue de la Conciliation which leads to St. Peter’s Basilica. Undeterred by the stifling Roman heat, nor by the days of cold, rain or wind, they followed the protected path, under the gaze of tourists, Romans and journalists from all over the world. Poor people and leaders, artists and medical staff, religious and families, catechists, workers, bosses… all in the same process of prayer and faith.
Younger generations at the forefront
Masses, meetings, spaces for reflection, concerts, exhibitions punctuated this 25th ordinary jubilee. Among the most memorable moments, the canonization of two young Italians: Carlo Acutis, thegod influencerthe first millennial saint to die of leukemia, at the age of 15, and Pier Giorgio Frassati, themountaineer of Godwho lived in the early 1900s and died at the age of 24. While the crisis of vocations and religious practice challenges the Church, the Youth Jubilee – which attracted around a million and a half young people from all over the world – was an unexpected success.
If the Holy Year remains above all a spiritual event, the cultural and artistic dimension was also there. For the first time, masterpieces that had never left their place of origin were exhibited in Rome. Like Salvador Dalí’s crucifix, or Marc Chagall’s White Crucifixion.
Youth Jubilee (@Vatican Media)
A success despite everything
It was a special year, with weeks of uncertainty during Francis’ hospitalization, jubilee masses deserted in the absence of the Pope, papal funerals on the day the Adolescent Jubilee was scheduled and a conclave during the Easter period. By the own admission of Mgr Fisichella, pro prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization – responsible, on the Vatican side, for the organization of the Holy Year – “the interregnum period caused a certain objective difficulty”. Before his hospitalization, Francis had only presided over two major events: the Jubilee of the world of communication and that of the armed forces and the police.
But the death of the Pope and the election of his successor have, in a way, revived the Jubilee in terms of participation as well as media attention. Especially since the new Pope, newly elected, immediately chose to maintain the scheduled commitments, postponing until later the management of other important issues for the life of the Church. And the faithful came, more and more numerous as the months went by. According to official figures, more than 30 million pilgrims and tourists made the trip to Rome in 2025. Among them, despite the wars, faithful from Ukraine, Syria, Palestine, Nigeria and South Sudan.
Towards the Holy Year of Redemption
If it is time to take stock, the figures do not tell everything. On December 31, before the Te Deum at the end of the year, Leo XIV wanted to return to the deep meaning of the Holy Year: “a great sign of a new world, renewed and reconciled according to God’s plan”. As he prepares to preside over his first Consistory and to confront urgent issues for the life of the Church, Leo