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Arab News
03-08-2025
- General
- Arab News
Over one million people at Pope Leo XIV's youth mass in Rome: Vatican
ROME: More than one million people, mostly youths, assembled for an open-air mass in Rome on Sunday, the culmination of the 'Jubilee of Youth,' the Vatican mass, to be led by Pope Leo XIV, follows an evening vigil Saturday night at the vast open space on Rome's outskirts.
CBS News
02-08-2025
- CBS News
Pope Leo XIV thrills hundreds of thousands of young Catholics at Holy Year youth festival
Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics poured into a vast field on Rome's outskirts Saturday for the weekend highlight of the Vatican's 2025 Holy Year: an evening vigil, outdoor slumber party and morning Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV that marks his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics. Leo arrived by helicopter as the sun set over the Tor Vergata field and immediately boarded his open-topped popemobile for long loops through the flag-waving, cheering pilgrims. They had already been partying there for hours, setting up campsites for the night as misting trucks and water cannons spritzed them to cool them down from the 85F temperatures. "It is something spiritual, that you can experience only every 25 years," said Francisco Michel, a pilgrim from Mexico. "As a young person, having the chance to live this meeting with the pope, I feel it is a spiritual growth." For the past week, these bands of young Catholics from around the world have poured into Rome for their special Jubilee celebration, in a Holy Year in which 32 million people are expected to descend on the Vatican to participate in a centuries-old pilgrimage to the seat of Catholicism. The young people have been traipsing down cobblestoned streets in color-coordinated T-shirts, praying the Rosary and singing hymns with guitars, bongo drums and tambourines shimmying alongside. Using their flags as tarps to shield them from the sun, they have taken over entire piazzas for Christian rock concerts and inspirational talks, and stood for hours at the Circus Maximus to confess their sins to 1,000 priests offering the sacrament in a dozen different languages. History's first American pope was presiding over the vigil Saturday night. He was then returning to the Vatican for the night and coming back for another popemobile romp and Mass on Sunday morning. It all has the vibe of a World Youth Day, the Catholic Woodstock festival that St. John Paul II inaugurated and made famous in Rome in 2000 at the very same Tor Vergata field. Then, before an estimated 2 million people, John Paul told the young pilgrims they were the "sentinels of the morning" at the dawn of the third millennium. Officials had initially expected 500,000 youngsters this weekend, but Leo hinted the number might reach 1 million. "It's a bit messed up, but this is what is nice about the Jubilee," said Chloe Jobbour, a 19-year-old Lebanese Catholic who was in Rome with a group of more than 200 young members of the Community of the Beatitudes, a France-based charismatic group. She said, for example, that it had taken two hours to get dinner at a KFC overwhelmed by orders on Friday night. The Salesian school that offered her group housing is an hour away by bus. But Jobbour, like many in Rome this week, didn't mind the discomfort: It's all part of the experience. "I don't expect it to be better than that. I expected it this way," she said, as members of her group gathered on church steps near the Vatican to sing and pray Saturday morning before heading out to Tor Vergata. There was one tragedy before the vigil began. The Vatican confirmed that an Egyptian 18-year-old woman, identified as Pascale Rafic, died during the pilgrimage, reportedly of cardiac arrest. Leo met on Saturday with her group and extended his condolences to her family. Those Romans who didn't flee the onslaught have been inconvenienced by the additional strain on the city's notoriously insufficient public transport system. Residents are sharing social media posts of outbursts by Romans at kids flooding subway platforms and crowding bus stops, which have delayed and complicated their commutes to work. But other Romans have welcomed the enthusiasm the youngsters have brought. Premier Giorgia Meloni offered a video welcome, marveling at the "extraordinary festival of faith, joy and hope" that the young people had created. "I think it's marvelous," said Rome hairdresser Rina Verdone, who lives near the Tor Vergata field and woke up Saturday to find a gaggle of police outside her home as part of the massive, 4,000-strong operation mounted to keep the peace. "You think the faith, the religion, is in difficulty, but this is proof that it's not so." Verdone had already made plans to take an alternate route home Saturday afternoon, which would require an extra half-mile walk, because she feared the "invasion" of kids in her neighborhood would disrupt her usual bus route. But she said she was more than happy to make the sacrifice. "You think of invasion as something negative. But this is a positive invasion," she said.
Al Arabiya
02-08-2025
- Politics
- Al Arabiya
Up to a million young Catholics expected for grand Pope Leo vigil
Up to a million young Catholics are expected to gather Saturday for a nighttime vigil led by Pope Leo XIV — the culmination of a weeklong pilgrimage marking a key event in the Jubilee holy year. The 'Jubilee of Youth,' an initiative by the Vatican inviting Catholics aged 18 to 35 to the heart of the global Church, has brought thousands of pilgrims from across the world to Rome. This year's gathering comes just under three months after 69-year-old Leo — the first American pope — assumed the papacy. Pilgrims waving flags and singing religious songs have packed the streets of the Italian capital all week in anticipation of his final address to the youth. 'I feel mainly curiosity, as we don't know him very well yet,' said Alice Berry, 21, a student from Paris. 'What does he have to say to us? What is his message for young people?' Uncertainty, anxiety Throughout the week, the Church has organized events across the city, including at Circus Maximus, where roughly 1,000 priests were available on Friday to hear confessions. About 200 white gazebos were set up at the ancient Roman chariot track, with priests offering guidance in 10 languages. Spanish was among the most commonly heard languages on Rome's streets. The pilgrimage unfolds at a time of rising economic uncertainty and climate anxiety among young people worldwide. Many pilgrims said they hoped the Vatican would address major global issues including the environment, economic inequality, and ongoing wars. Samarei Semos, 29, traveled three days from Belize to attend. 'We are still trying to understand his leadership,' she said of Pope Leo, adding she hopes he will speak out about challenges facing 'third world countries.' The gathering also comes amid widespread concern over the humanitarian crisis in Israel-blockaded Gaza, and more than three years into Russia's war in Ukraine. Night vigil The Vatican has praised youth from war-torn nations like Ukraine and Syria for making the journey, and Pope Leo has repeatedly urged participants to 'pray for peace.' Earlier this week, he told the assembled young people that their voices 'will be heard to the end of the earth.' According to the Vatican, youth from more than 146 countries are represented at the event. The climactic mass will be held in Rome's Tor Vergata district, where a large open-air space and new stage have been prepared. The area hosted the last youth jubilee 25 years ago, under Pope John Paul II. Over 4,300 volunteers and more than 1,000 police officers are involved in organizing and securing the event. In an unprecedented move, Pope Leo also held a special mass on Tuesday for Catholic social media influencers, signaling the Church's intent to engage digitally savvy youth. Rome authorities have tightened security throughout the city as a record influx of both tourists and pilgrims crowds the streets.
CNN
01-08-2025
- Politics
- CNN
Young Americans flock to the Vatican for the Youth Jubilee
Young Americans flock to the Vatican for the Youth Jubilee Pope Leo made a surprise appearance during the Vatican's Youth Jubilee event. Young people from around the world showed up to see the Pontiff, including Gen Z'ers from his hometown of Chicago. 02:16 - Source: CNN Vertical World News 17 videos Young Americans flock to the Vatican for the Youth Jubilee Pope Leo made a surprise appearance during the Vatican's Youth Jubilee event. Young people from around the world showed up to see the Pontiff, including Gen Z'ers from his hometown of Chicago. 02:16 - Source: CNN Witkoff visits controversial Gaza aid site US Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff spent over five hours in Gaza, and visited the controversial Gaza Humanitarian Foundation aid site. He said the purpose of the visit was to give Trump 'a clear understanding of the humanitarian situation and help craft a plan to deliver food and medical aid to the people of Gaza.' 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CNN's Paula Hancocks reports. 01:33 - Source: CNN Medics perform surgery during earthquake Video shows medics in Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Russia, continuing a surgery on a patient despite a powerful magnitude 8.8 earthquake that struck off Russia's far eastern coast on July 30. 00:47 - Source: CNN Tsunami warnings triggered after major earthquake The strongest earthquake on the planet since 2011 has triggered tsunami warnings for parts of Russia, Japan, and Alaska, as well as all of Hawaii. CNN's Will Ripley reports on the 8.8-magnitude quake. 00:41 - Source: CNN Israeli settler kills activist who worked on Oscar-winning film Odeh Hathalin, a prominent Palestinian activist who had worked on an Oscar-winning documentary, was killed on Monday during an attack by Israeli settlers in the occupied West Bank, according to local journalists and officials. CNN's Jeremy Diamond explains video circulated on social media that shows the gunman firing a hand gun in the vicinity of where Hathalin was said to be killed. 01:36 - Source: CNN Fans in England celebrate Women's Euro 2025 final win Fans celebrate in London as England has been crowned champion of Europe for the second successive time after defeating Spain 3-1 on penalties in the Women's Euro 2025 final. 00:30 - Source: CNN Breaking down Israel's aid drops into Gaza In the midst of a hunger crisis in Gaza, Israel and other countries have begun dropping aid by plane into the area. CNN's Nic Robertson breaks down how much effect this measure can offer, while the UN calls for substantial relief to come from aid trucks moving in quickly through open corridors. 01:15 - Source: CNN People fight for scraps of food in Gaza CNN's Nic Robertson reports on the scarce food conditions in Gaza, with children and mothers fighting off starvation as soup kitchens face shortages. 01:46 - Source: CNN
