by Daniele Frison

The event, which will be the central event of the Holy Year from 28 July to 3 August, was presented in the Vatican. It will include a vigil and Mass with Pope Leo XIV, dialogues on faith, parishes welcoming young people, and a "missionary mandate”. More than 500,000 participants are expected, including young people from war-torn countries like Myanmar, Ukraine, Israel, and Syria. For Archbishop Fisichella, it will be a “genuine moment of peace”.

Rome (AsiaNews) – A press conference was held this morning at the Holy See Press Office few days before the "most anticipated moment" of the Holy Year, the Youth Jubilee from 28 July to 3 August, to lay out the logistics and significance of the event, which will bring hundreds of thousands of young people from 146 countries t Rome.

“We are preparing to celebrate this week with great responsibility but also with great joy," said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelisation and Holy See representative for the Jubilee.

The two key events of the next week will be the Vigil with Pope Leo XIV in the Tor Vergata area at 8:30 pm on Saturday, 2 August, and Mass at 9:00 am the following day, just like 25 years ago, at the 2000 World Youth Day, which brought over two million young people to Rome, in the presence of Saint John Paul II.

At the first event, three young people – a Mexican, an Italian, and an American – “will ask […] three questions to the Holy Father, who will likely respond in their respective languages," Fisichella explained.

These questions will touch on "extremely relevant" topics, such as friendship in the Internet age and hope, which is at the heart of the entire Jubilee, inspired and launched by Pope Francis, which has so far attracted nearly 17 million participants. This will be an opportunity to convey a message of unity, brotherhood, and peace.

These themes are dear to the pontiff, from the very first words he spoke at the start of his pontificate. Over half a million young people are expected in Rome next Monday, 28 July.

About 68 per cent of the participants will be from European countries, the others from the other continents, including Asia, with 1,500 from South Korea, which will host World Youth Day in Seoul in 2027, following Lisbon 2023. Theirs will be “a testimony to continuity."

The Youth Jubilee in Rome represents an intermediate stage between the two WYDs, as Pope Francis hoped for, from the Portuguese capital two years ago, and by Pope Leo XIV, who renewed his invitation to young people to come to Rome for the Jubilee event.

Speaking of peace, many of the participants will come "from countries where, unfortunately, there are war zones at the moment," Archbishop Rino Fisichella noted. “We will have young people from Lebanon, Iraq, Myanmar, Ukraine, Israel, Syria, and South Sudan."

Their presence, which brings the suffering of peoples tormented by war and violence, is part of a moment of “celebration” and “joy” that symbolically seeks to give them “the embrace of all the young people of the world.”

The prelate noted that the upcoming World Youth Day gathering can also represent a "genuine moment of peace as well as peace building in the world," he said.

Also sitting at the table with the Vatican representative for the Jubilee this morning were Alfredo Mantovano, Undersecretary of State to the Presidency of the Council of Ministers of Italy, Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri, and representatives of the Lazio Region, Rome Prefecture, and the Civil Protection Agency.

This is a sign of the impressive deployment of resources that characterises an event of this scale.

“Some 370 parishes, 400 schools, 40 extra-school sites have made themselves available, as well as Civil Protection centres, municipal sports halls and gyms, and families, who will welcome at least 500 young people [...] into their homes," Archbishop Rino Fisichella told the press.

The Fiera di Roma alone will host approximately 25,000 young people, becoming "a city within the city," he added. Rome will have 20 refreshment points, as well as numerous support stations for participants.

Fisichella then outlined the week's programme, kicking off on Monday, 28 July, with the welcome and the Jubilee of Catholic Digital Missionaries and Influencers.

The “Dialogues with the City” will take place from Tuesday (29 July) to Thursday (31 July). According to the organisers, more than 70 events will be held in Rome's churches and squares “to accompany young people on a journey of faith, encounter, and reflection”.

On Thursday, St Peter's Square will be the scene of a gathering hosted by the National Youth Ministry Service of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of Italy.

On Friday, 1 August, the Circus Maximus will be the venue for the penitential day with hundreds of priests offering young people the opportunity to go to confession in various languages, to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence.

Finally, on Saturday and Sunday (2-3 August), a large gathering will take place at Tor Vergata, hosted, among others, by Italian radio host Rudy Zerbi and the musical group Il Volo.

At the end of today's press conference, Archbishop Rino Fisichella stressed that Sunday morning's Eucharistic celebration will not be a final act, "in the same vein as World Youth Days [. . .] because  in that Eucharist, the Pope always gives a mandate;” indeed, Leo XIV will deliver a "missionary mandate" to young people from around the world, to reach out to the community they come from, setting the path to WYD in Seoul in 2027.

• vatican
• jubilee
• youth
• archbishop rino fisichella
• dicastery
• evangelisation
• seoul 2027