The Jubilee, also known as the Holy Year, has begun with visitors flocking to Rome, the Vatican City and across Italy.
Pope Francis kicked off the event while opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Tuesday.
The sacred event for the Catholic Church is typically held every 25 years for patrons to ask forgiveness for their sins.
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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.”
Pope Francis kicked off the Jubilee while opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican on Tuesday. (Alberto Pizzoli/Pool Photo via AP)
“The spiritual dimension of the Jubilee, which calls for conversion, should also embrace these fundamental aspects of our life in society as part of a coherent whole. In the realization that all of us are pilgrims on this earth, which the Lord has charged us to till and keep (cf. Gen 2:15),” he said.
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.
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“Rounding down and pretending those people will be distributed evenly throughout the year, that’s around 700,000 extra people each week,” said Butorac.
He added, “To put that into perspective, the biggest event of the year with the Pope is Easter Sunday Mass, which usually draws 60,000 people.”
“The people traveling to Rome will be here to go through the four Holy Doors,” said Mountain Butorac, founder of The Catholic Traveler. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
“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.
During the Holy Year, there will also be specific Jubilee events pertaining to youth, families, musicians and more.
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The Rev. Patrick Briscoe, a Catholic priest based in Washington, D.C., told Fox News Digital this year’s Jubilee will focus on hope.
Over 32 million people are expected to travel to Italy during the Holy Year. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
“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.’”
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He added, “It’s a message every Christian needs to remember. Hope in Christ will not be disappointed because He never lets us down.”
This year’s Jubilee will focus on hope, said a Catholic priest in the U.S. (AP Photo/Andrew Medichini)
Briscoe said he is especially looking forward to the canonizations of Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
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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.
A child kisses Pope Francis during the weekly general audience at the Vatican, Aug. 21, 2024. (Reuters/Yara Nardi )
Frassati was a third order Dominican known for his charitable outreach.
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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.”