Pope Leo XIV gets rock star welcome from young Catholics at huge vigil
Pope Leo brings youth jubilee to a close with mass for over a million people
(about 16 hours later)
More than 800,000 pilgrims cry and cheer as pontiff arrives at open-air youth prayer event outside Rome
Pontiff presides over culmination of ‘Catholic Woodstock’ that drew young people from 146 countries
Hundreds of thousands of young faithful feted Pope Leo XIV like a rock star on Saturday at an open-air prayer vigil outside Rome, after the head of the Catholic church made a dramatic entrance by helicopter.
Pope Leo XIV presided over a mass in Rome for more than a million young people on Sunday, the culmination of a pilgrimage that has drawn Catholics from across the world.
Pilgrims began crying and cheering when the white military helicopter descended over the sprawling site in Rome’s eastern outskirts. Organisers said more than 800,000 young pilgrims from 146 countries around the world had assembled as part of a Jubilee of Youth – and perhaps as many as 1 million.
“Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Do not settle for less,” Pope Leo told the crowd.
Smiling from his popemobile, the first US pope waved to throngs of screaming young people lining his route, many running for a better vantage point.
The week-long Jubilee of Youth, a highlight of the Jubilee holy year, was an enormous undertaking for the Vatican, with a half a million young pilgrims in Rome for most of the week.
They had already spent the day in the hot sun listening to music, praying and talking with fellow Catholics. “The pope is here” announced an excited voice over the public address to thunderous applause from the crowd.
Before a twilight vigil led by the pope on Saturday night, organisers said there had been 800,000 people in the vast open-air space on Rome’s eastern outskirts. The Vatican said on Sunday that number had grown to a million.
But the tenor of the event became more solemn and contemplative as the pope took to the stage, carrying a large wood cross. “Dear young people, after walking, praying and sharing these days of grace of the Jubilee dedicated to you, we now gather together in the light of the advancing evening to keep vigil together,” Leo, 69, told them.
Most of them spent the night in tents, in sleeping bags or on mats in anticipation of Sunday’s mass.
In the crowd was French pilgrim Julie Mortier, 18, whose voice was hoarse from singing and screaming for hours. “We’re too happy to be here. Seeing the pope, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity,” she said.
Among them was New Yorker Christofer Delano, who said he had been “so happy to see Pope Leo” but was stunned by the crowds.
Event organisers said people had continued to arrive during the vigil and that it was possible that attendance numbers had reached 1 million.
“I didn’t expect to see all these people. I knew there was going to be a lot of people, I didn’t know it was going to be this many,” he said.
Most pilgrims said they would camp overnight for a Sunday morning mass at the site led by Leo. That will mark the culmination of the week-long youth pilgrimage, a key event in the Catholic church’s Jubilee holy year.
In his homily, the former missionary and first US popeencouraged the gathered youth to “spread your enthusiasm and the witness of your faith to everyone you meet”.
Some in the crowd were so far away they could not see the massive stage with a golden arch and towering cross that dominated the open area – which at more than 500,000 sq m was the size of about 70 football fields.
The Vatican has sought to highlight the fact that pilgrims had travelled to Rome from war-torn regions, and Leo said in his Angelus prayer: “We are closer than ever to young people who suffer the most serious evils which are caused by other human beings.
“I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect,” British student Andy Hewellyn 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,” the pontiff said.
“The main thing is that we’re all together,” he said ahead of the pope’s appearance, as other young people nearby played guitars, sang or snoozed in the sun.
“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.”
Italian broadcaster Rai called the event a Catholic “Woodstock”, as throughout the day nearly two dozen musical and dance groups, many of them religious, entertained the crowds.
The colourful event was accompanied by music from a choir and about 450 bishops and 700 priests all dressed in green robes. A towering cross dominated the golden arch covering the stage where the pope led mass.
In a video message, the Italian prime minister, Giorgia Meloni, welcomed pilgrims to the capital, who were “praying, singing, joking among themselves, celebrating in an extraordinary party”.
Tommaso Benedetti, an Italian pilgrim, said the pope had passed his first test in the eyes of young people during the youth jubilee.
The Jubilee of Youth, which began on Monday, comes nearly three months after the start of Leo’s papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s pope, John Paul II.
“We feel quite satisfied. There were many references to peace, which is a theme that is very close to our hearts as young people,” he said.
Early on Saturday, groups of young people set off from central Rome for the venue in Tor Vergata. They were ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a crowd of people and sleep under the stars.
The young pilgrims – from 146 different countries, according to the Vatican – have filled Rome’s streets since Monday, chanting, singing and waving their countries’ flags.
Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the pope up close”. “It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old said, looking forward to a “night of prayers under the stars”.
The festive atmosphere reached a peak Saturday before the vigil presided over by Leo. The Italian broadcaster Rai called it a Catholic Woodstock.
French pilgrim Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late Pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland. “Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches’, and that really gave me a boost,” he said.
Hundreds of thousands camped out at the dusty venue, strumming guitars or singing, as music blasted from the stage where a series of religious bands entertained the crowds.
Throughout the week, attenders participated in church-planned events, such as confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.
Leo was greeted with deafening screams and applause after his arrival by helicopter and as he toured the grounds in his popemobile, with many people running to catch a better glimpse of the new pope.
On Friday, about 1,000 priests were on hand, with 200 white gazebos serving as makeshift confessionals lining the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome.
Roads leading to the Tor Vegata venue, a 40-minute drive from the centre of Rome, were packed, making Leo’s choice of helicopter transport more efficient.
The pilgrimage unfolds as under-30s navigate economic uncertainty, the climate crisis and international conflict, with some pilgrims travelling from war-torn areas such as Syria and Ukraine.
At over 500,000 square metres (125 acres), the grounds were the size of around 70 football pitches.
Samarei Semos, 29, who said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome, said she hoped Leo would have a strong say about “third world countries”.
Andy Hewellyn, a British student, sat in front of a huge video screen – a prime spot because he was unable to see the stage in the distance.
The Vatican said that before the vigil the pope had met and prayed with travellers accompanying an 18-year-old Egyptian pilgrim who died on Friday night.
“I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect,” he said. “The main thing is that we’re all together.”
Rai News reported that the young woman had died of a heart attack on a bus while returning to her lodging from an event in Rome.
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 gathering in Rome.
Security at the venue was tight, and organisers said at least 4,300 volunteers and more than 1,000 police were watching over the vigil.
It was announced by Pope Francis on World Youth Day in Lisbon in 2023.
The church planned a series of events for the young pilgrims over the course of the week, including turning the Circus Maximus – where chariot races were held in ancient Rome – into an open-air confessional.
