‘The whole world came to Rome’: 33 million pilgrims visited for Jubilee Year

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, announced in a Jan. 5 press conference that more than 33 million pilgrims visited Rome for the Jubilee Year of Hope.

“The Papal Basilicas and other centers of prayer — such as the Holy Stairs — recorded unprecedented attendance levels,” Archbishop Fisichella said, according to Vatican News. “Confessions increased, and the Jubilee celebration of complete forgiveness, the indulgence, has reached everyone.”

Roma Tre University projected 31 million pilgrims, but Archbishop Fisichella said that this figure was exceeded by nearly 2.5 million.

“The whole world came to Rome,” he said, according to Vatican News.

Pilgrims came from around the world, representing 185 countries. According to Vatican News, 62% of pilgrims were from Europe, and 17% were from North America. Italy had the highest number of pilgrims, followed by the U.S., Spain, Brazil, and Poland.

The archbishop thanked all those who made the Jubilee possible. During the press conference, Alfredo Mantovano, secretary of the Council of Ministers of Italy, said that the Jubilee required cooperation and coordination between many different groups, and that no single group of people could have made the Jubilee possible by themselves. 

Rome’s mayor, Roberto Gualtieri, explained that the pilgrims were a gift to the Roman people.

“The joy, faith, and hope of the pilgrims touched the hearts of Romans, who in turn showed a welcoming attitude toward them, even when their numbers were extraordinary,” he said, according to Vatican News.

Archbishop Fisichella said that the Jubilee Year’s message of hope will continue.

“The Jubilee comes to an end, but the many signs of hope that were offered remain, and the horizon widens to support a future filled with peace and serenity, as everyone desires,” he said, according to Vatican News. “In a word, this Holy Year achieved the goal expressed in the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, Spes non confundit: to be for everyone an opportunity to rekindle hope.”