Thousands of U.S. pilgrims, including college Knights, gather in Rome for the Jubilee of Youth
As half a million people flocked to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth, held July 29 to Aug. 3, more than 4,000 young adults from the United States gathered at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls on July 30 for the U.S. National Jubilee Pilgrim Gathering — an evening of prayer, sacred music and Catholic witness.
Cardinal James Harvey, archpriest of St. Paul Outside the Walls since 2012 and a member of Milwaukee-Pere Marquette Council 524, formally welcomed the pilgrims, who had entered through the papal basilica’s Holy Door.
Organized by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops and sponsored by the Knights of Columbus, the event included the veneration of the relics of saints and blesseds, several personal testimonies of hope, a keynote address by Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota, and a Eucharistic Holy Hour.
The previous evening, Pope Leo XIV had surprised pilgrims with an unexpected appearance in St. Peter’s Square following the opening Mass of the Jubilee of Youth. The Holy Father greeted pilgrims from his popemobile before addressing an impromptu message to the throngs of young people.
“Today marks the beginning of a new journey, a jubilee of hope, and the world needs messages of hope,” Pope Leo said. “You are that message, and you must continue to give hope to everyone.”
In his keynote address at St. Paul Outside the Walls, Bishop Barron underscored the personal call, or mission, that God has for each of us.
“The Bible tells the story of a great adventure of being called to a higher life, summoned by God,” he said, reflecting on the Old Testament figures Abraham, Jacob and Jonah, as well as on Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati — a modern-day patron of youth and soon-to-be saint.
“God has an idea of the saint you were meant to be,” added Bishop Barron, who serves as chairman of the USCCB’s committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life and Youth. “What happens when we accept the mission? … Now each one of you has to discern that, but there’s nothing more important in your life. Listen to the voice, worship aright, accept the mission.”
Renzo Ortega, a Knight who emceed the U.S. celebration with his wife, Monica, described the purpose of the national gathering as a way to energize young people to become “witnesses of hope,” knowing that they share the company of many holy men and women who have gone before them.
Relics of a dozen saints and blesseds — including St. Kateri Tekakwitha, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Blessed Michael McGivney and Blessed Carlos Manuel Rodríguez Santiago, a lay catechist from Puerto Rico and brother Knight — were processed into the basilica at the start of the event and placed in front of the sanctuary for veneration.
“What a blessing it is to be Catholic and to have these older brothers and sisters in the faith who are models of how we can also live,” said Ortega, who is a member of Virgilius Council 185 in Newtown, Connecticut.
“Having Father McGivney present with us also reminds young people that they share co-responsibility for the mission of the Church,” he added. “It’s not just our priests and pastors that we’re hoping will go share the Gospel message — but you, yourself.”
Several college Knights, including members of the College Councils Advisory Board, participated in the Jubilee of Youth and attended the gathering at St. Paul Outside the Walls. Among them was Erick Cruz, a seminarian for the Archdiocese of San Antonio and past grand knight of St. John Paul II Council 13523, who left inspired by the words of Pope Leo XIV, Bishop Barron and others.
“Seeing all of these young people active in their faith and loving each other as one big Christian family was just amazing,” said Cruz, who helped carry the canopy during the Eucharistic procession at the U.S. pilgrim celebration.
“In the way I view pilgrimage, it is not just for us,” he added. “It should inspire us to bring Christ to others. That is the reason why I’m doing this.”
In addition to praying for his family and friends during the pilgrimage, Cruz said he had a special personal intention.
“Each time we venerated a saint’s relics, I offered this small petition,” Cruz said. “‘Pray for me, please, so that I can be a good priest one day.’”
Declan Griffin — chairman of the College Councils Advisory Board and a cadet at the U.S. Military Academy in West Point, New York, where he is a member of Msgr. Cornelius George O’Keefe Council 8250 — said that participating in the Jubilee of Youth as a Knight and cadet was an exceptional opportunity to grow in faith.
“To visit each major basilica during the jubilee was an amazing way to explore the faith and deep history and culture of Catholicism,” Griffin said. “At the Basilica of St. Mary Major, we got to pray the rosary together as brothers, which was super powerful. The power of prayer is really alive here.”
For Griffin, having a close relationship with Christ naturally impacts how a person relates to others, especially with friends and peers.
“Being a Catholic man is setting me up to serve others,” he said. “My biggest role is to take care of those around me. At the end of the day, I’m just a servant.”
On Aug. 3, U.S. pilgrims participated in the closing Mass for the Jubilee of Youth. More than 1 million people joined Pope Leo for Mass, after spending time in prayerful vigil with him before the Blessed Sacrament the night before, on the grounds of the University of Rome Tor Vergata.
“We are not made for a life where everything is taken for granted and static,” the Holy Father said in his homily, “but for an existence that is constantly renewed through gift of self in love.”
Pope Leo urged young Catholics to place their hope in Jesus and “to open wide your hearts, to allow him to enter, and to set out on this adventure with him towards eternity.”
He added, “Let us remain in his friendship, always, cultivating it through prayer, adoration, Eucharistic communion, frequent confession and generous charity.”
Later that morning, Pope Leo offered concluding remarks to the young pilgrims during his Angelus Address, asking them go forth as joyful messengers of hope throughout the world.
“You will be seeds of hope where you live, in your families, among your friends, at school, at work, and in sports,” he said. “You will be seeds of hope with Christ, our hope.”