Keystone-SDA
Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics from around the world acclaimed Pope Leo XIV on Saturday when he arrived as a helicopter for an outdoor vigil near Rome, a highlight of the jubilee, a reception worthy of a rock star.
(Keystone-ATS) Pilgrims exclaimed and others melted in tears when the white helicopter hit the ground of the immense esplanade of Tor Vergata located east of Rome, where young faithful from 146 countries were gathered for the “youth jubilee” who began on Monday.
On board the papamobile, the first American pope displayed a big smile and praised the crowd gathered along his journey after spending the day listening to music, praying or exchanging with other pilgrims under a blazing sun.
“The Pope is there! “Said a boosted voice through the speakers, causing nourished applause and resounding cries.
Among the faithful, Julia Mortier, an 18 -year -old Frenchwoman, has a hoarse voice after having shouted and sung for hours. “We are so happy to be there!” Seeing the Pope is a unique chance in a life ”.
First major pope gathering
This rally takes place almost three months after the start of the pontificate of Léon XIV, 69, the first American pope, and 25 years after the jubilee of the year 2000, during which more than two million young people had participated in the World Youth Days at the call of Pope John Paul II.
The exact number of participants is not yet known, but the Vatican was waiting up to a million pilgrims. Most predict to spend the night on the esplanade, to the great closing mass celebrated by the pope on Sunday morning, highlight of the jubilee, “holy year” organized every 25 years by the Catholic Church.
The chief of the 1.4 billion Catholics should chair the vigil on Saturday evening, from an immense scene surmounted by a golden arch and an imposing cross, dominating the vast esplanade – which, with more than 500,000 square meters, is equivalent to nearly 70 football fields.
“Night of prayers under the stars”
“I am so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope,” AFP Andy Hewellyd told AFP a British student. Since its place, you could only see the scene thanks to a giant screen.
The RAI, Italian public radioevision, described the event “Catholic Woodstock”, while twenty music and dance groups, mostly religious, followed one another during the day, with music at full volume.
In a video message, the Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed pilgrims in the capital, who, according to her, was “literally invaded by hundreds of thousands of young men and women” who “pray, sing, pleasant between them, party … in an extraordinary celebration”.
Wearing a Spanish flag and loaded with a heavy backpack, Victoria Perez, 21, was delighted to arrive early “to be able to see the Pope up close”. “This is the first time that I will see him and I can’t wait, so I wanted to arrive early to have a good place,” the young woman explains to AFP, impatient to live this “night of prayers under the stars”.
Open -air confessional
The organization of the event was an extraordinary logistical challenge for the authorities, with some 10,000 people deployed, including police officers and civil protection agents, and health measures-distribution of water and misty bottles-to help participants overcome Roman summer heat.
The Vatican said that the Pope had met and prayed on Saturday with the traveling companions of an 18 -year -old Egyptian pilgrim, who died on Friday evening from a heart attack according to the Rai, when she returned by bus to her accommodation after an event in Rome.
From the Colosseum on the outskirts of the Vatican via the place of Spain, from the waves of pilgrims, exhibiting the flags of their countries, flooded the transport and the arteries of the eternal city all week in a festive atmosphere, between concerts, conferences and prayers.
Friday, the famous Circus Maximus, the racetrack where the tank races took place in ancient Rome at the foot of Mount Palatine, turned into a large open -air confessional: a thousand priests heard tens of thousands of young people in ten different languages under white tents.
