The jubilee of young people in Rome starts

Since Pope Francis convened the Jubileo de la Esperanza for this 2025, young people from all over the world began to prepare what was necessary to travel to Rome, the heart of the Holy Year, in July.

From this July 28 until Sunday, August 3, hundreds of thousands of young people from 140 countries will participate in the Jubilee of Young people, a key event that will mark a deep footprint in their life of faith.

In the Angelus prior to the beginning of this expected jubilee, Pope Leo XIV encouraged them to take advantage of this opportunity to “find Christ and exit reinforced in faith and in the commitment to follow him with coherence.”

Throughout the week, the eternal city will become a witness to the enthusiasm, faith and commitment of the new generations of Catholics. To do this, the Dicastery for Evangelization has organized different events of a spiritual and cultural nature, where there will also be space for fun and encounter.

This Monday has been reserved for the reception of young people, who will stay in different enabled spaces. The jubilee will officially begin on the afternoon of Tuesday, July 29 with a welcome mass in the Plaza de San Pedro chaired by Mons. Rino Fisichella, Prefect of the Vatican Dicastery.

During the week, young people can participate in numerous activities Within the framework of the “dialogues with the city”, a series of events in which pilgrims will be invited to deepen their faith.

Among them is an exhibition of the life of Santa Teresa de Calcutta, organized by the missioners of charity; Guided tours of the Churches of the Jesuits in Rome; Workshops and conferences of the “Ignatian youth network”; and the vocational testimonies that will take place in the church of Santa María Transpontina.

Among these activities, especially the pilgrimage with “Young Saints”, where the relics of future Santos Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati can be venerated. There will also be music, personal testimonies and Eucharistic adoration. The pilgrimage concludes at the Holy Gate of the Basilica of San Pedro and with a visit to the San Lorenzo Youth Center.

On Friday, August 1 there will be a penitential day in the historic Massimo Circus. Pope Leo XIV will join young people on Saturday, August 2 with a party and prayer vigil in Tor Vergata and with the Mass he will preside over to conclude the Jubilee on Sunday, August 3 in the Plaza de San Pedro.

Offer the Gospel in the digital world

In addition to the jubilee of young people, July 28 and 29, the jubilee of digital missionaries and Catholic influencers is also celebrated. In its inauguration on Monday, Cardinal Pietro Parolin stressed that digital technology “has ceased to be just a tool among others – although more powerful – and has become a language, an environment and a way of living our world.”

Faced with this reality, he said that the Church must discern how to “offer the Gospel with fidelity and creativity in this new scenario.”

He warned that “digital mission” does not mean reducing evangelization to a technical issue, but recognizing that it is part of the way in which people relate. “More than strategies, we must talk about presence, a testimony of evangelical life” and availability to dialogue and listen to it, “also on the network,” said Cardinal Parolin.