Pope's 'Jubilee of Youth' ends with mass for 1 million

Young people from nearly 150 countries celebrated Mass on Sunday with Pope Leo XIV at the end of the Catholic Church's Jubilee of Youth in Italy.

The Vatican said more than a million youth took part in the huge event in a vast open space at Rome's University of Tor Vergata.

Rome's University of Tor Vergata has vast open spaces for events like Jubilee of YouthImage: Vatican Media/Catholic Press Photo/ipa-agency/picture alliance

What did the pope say?

Leo, who arrived by helicopter and popemobile to cheers and applause, used his closing blessing to remember the young people of Gaza and Ukraine and other warring countries who could not join their celebration.

"We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils, which are caused by other human beings," Leo said. "We are with the young people of Gaza. We are with the young people of
Ukraine, with those of every land bloodied by war."

"My young brothers and sisters, you are the sign that a different world is possible. A world of fraternity and friendship, where conflicts are not resolved with weapons, but with dialogue."

Later, he told them to: "Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less."

Rome has been awash with young Catholic faithful over the past weekImage: Asquini Claudio/Catholic Press Photo/ipa-agency/picture alliance

What is the Jubilee of Youth?

The week-long Jubilee of Youth is a highlight of the Catholic Church's Jubilee or Holy Year of forgiveness and pilgrimage, which runs until January.

The event drew half a million young pilgrims over the past week, most of them camping out in tents, sleeping bags, or on mats in the sprawling fields southeast of Rome. 

Sunday's colourful mass was accompanied by music from a choir and about 450 bishops and 700 priests, all in green robes.

A towering cross dominated the massive golden arch covering the stage where the pope led the proceedings.

On Saturday, hundreds of thousands of people watched a concert by religious bands, dubbed the Catholic "Woodstock," attended by the pope.

Another highlight was turning the Circus Maximus — where chariot races were held in ancient Rome — into an open-air confessional.  

The pope told young followers that conflicts can be resolved with dialogue, not weaponsImage: Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto/picture alliance

New pope 'passes' first youth test

The youth pilgrimage came about three months after the start of Leo's papacy and 25 years after John Paul II organised the last such youth gathering in Rome. 

Italian pilgrim Tommaso Benedetti said Leo had passed his "first test" in the eyes of young people during the jubilee.

"We feel quite satisfied. There were many references to peace, a theme that is very close to our hearts as young people," Benedetti told AFP.

The church's wider Jubilee or Holy Year is expected to bring 32 million people to the Vatican for the centuries-old pilgrimage to the seat of Catholicism.

Edited by: Jenipher Camino Gonzalez