32 million young Catholics from around the world are expected to take part in the pilgrimage to Italy’s capital for the Jubilee celebration
Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics poured into a vast field on Rome’s outskirts on Saturday for the weekend highlight of the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year: an evening vigil, outdoor slumber party and morning Mass celebrated by Pope Leo that marks his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics.
Misting trucks and water cannons spritzed the young people to try to keep them cool as temperatures neared 30 degrees Celsius (85 degrees Fahrenheit) with hours to go before Leo arrived for the vigil. But the mood was festive, with young people dancing to a line-up of a dozen different bands or lying on their tarpaulins where they had set up camp for the night.
“It is something spiritual, that you can experience only every 25 years,” said Francisco Michel, a pilgrim from Mexico. “As a young person, having the chance to live this meting with the pope I feel it is a spiritual growth.”
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