This afternoon the second bilateral meeting between the Holy See and the Italian Government took place at Palazzo Chigi to take stock of the organization of the next Jubilee.

For Italy, the Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, the Deputy Prime Minister, the Undersecretary, the Minister of the Interior, the Minister of Economy and Finance, the Minister of Culture, the Minister of Health, the Minister for European Affairs, the Minister of Tourism, the Minister for Disabilities, the Extraordinary Commissioner of the Government, the President of the Lazio Region and the Prefect of Rome were present.

For the Holy See, together with His Eminence Cardinal Secretary of State Pietro Parolin, the meeting was attended by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Secretary for Relations with States and International Organizations, the Counsellor for General Affairs, the Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, the Deputy Secretary General of the Governorate of Vatican City State, the Deputy Director of Infrastructure and Services and the Deputy Director of Security and Civil Protection Services.

After the Italian Prime Minister's words of welcome, the Cardinal Secretary of State informed those present about the forthcoming publication of the Bull of the Jubilee, scheduled for May next year, anticipating the expectation of many pilgrims, for whom the active construction sites augur a more liveable city.

The items on the agenda included the progress of plans for security, health, the contribution and coordination of volunteers, civil protection, and transport. In this regard, the summit provided an opportunity for some updates on issues of great importance, starting with the agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs for the issuance of visas to pilgrims arriving in Rome for the Holy Year.

The pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization thanked the Ministry of Tourism for the Memorandum of Understanding, signed last September with the Minister of Tourism and the Italian Extraordinary Commissioner, for the reception of tourists visiting for the Jubilee, and then stressed the importance of the cultural dimension of the Holy Year also being known in schools. The meeting also focused on the agreement concerning the events of the cultural review “The Jubilee is Culture”, which includes exhibitions, itinerant shows and concerts.

The periodic meetings of the Working Tables at the Municipality of Rome continue, in close cooperation between the Prefecture, the Support Office to the Extraordinary Commissioner for the Jubilee, Roma Capitale and the Holy See. There are also many novelties concerning the organization of the Jubilee events, which will be made official in the coming days on the website and the official Iubilaeum25 app.