Thursday, 03 Apr 2025

Pope Francis kicks off Holy Year at Vatican with over 32 million visitors expected

Pope Francis kicked off the Jubilee this week, marking the start of the Holy Year in Italy as 32 million pilgrims are expected to travel to Rome this year.


Pope Francis kicks off Holy Year at Vatican with over 32 million visitors expected
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Pope Francis kicked off the event while opening the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on Tuesday.

The Vatican anticipates over 32 million pilgrims to travel during the Jubilee year, according to the U.S. Embassy in Italy.

In a letter, Pope Francis wrote, "It is my hope that the coming Jubilee Year will be celebrated and experienced."

Mountain Butorac, founder of The Catholic Traveler, an agency that leads small groups of Catholic pilgrimages throughout Europe and the Holy Land, told Fox News Digital there may be as many as 39 million people traveling because of the Jubilee, according to some estimates.

"The people traveling to Rome will be here to go through the four Holy Doors, one each at Saint Peter, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Saint Mary Major, and Saint John Lateran," Butorac said.

"In a time of great unrest, with wars raging in Ukraine and the Middle East, the Holy Father declared, 'Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God's love.'"

He added, "It's a message every Christian needs to remember. Hope in Christ will not be disappointed because He never lets us down."

The two Italian men will be formally declared saints during solemn ceremonies taking place during the Holy Year in April and August. 

Acutis will become the Catholic Church's first millennial saint; he taught himself programming and created spiritually focused websites.

Frassati was a third order Dominican known for his charitable outreach.

Said Butorac, "I will personally be leading a few jubilee pilgrimages around Rome, but as I already focus on the Catholic side of Rome, not much changes for me, other than having to navigate the crowds."

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