PRESS RELEASE
ON 8 AND 9 MARCH, JUBILEE OF THE WORLD OF VOLUNTEERING
(Vatican City, 5 March 2025) – On Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March the fifth major Jubilee event will be held, dedicated to the world of volunteering, which will bring approximately 25 thousand pilgrims to Rome from over 100 countries throughout the world.
Among these, to mention only the most represented, they will come from Italy, with 5000 pilgrims from the Misericordie groups, 4000 from the Civil Protection and 800 from Italian Caritas; 124 will arrive from Spain; 123 from the United States; 85 from Brazil, and numerous groups will also be present from Poland, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Australia, Chile, Ecuador and India.
On Saturday 8 March, the pilgrims, who will represent many associations, groups, Onlus, and voluntary organizations from all over the world in Rome, will have the opportunity to experience, between 8.00 and 17.00 their pilgrimage to the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica and the opportunity to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation in the Jubilee churches.
From 15.00 to 18.00, the “Dialogues with the City”, meetings of a cultural, artistic and spiritual nature, will be held in various squares in Rome. In Piazza Risorgimento, the Focsiv Foundation will propose activities to raise awareness of volunteering and will animate the square with their volunteers, involving people of all ages. The Movement for Life, in Piazza dell’Oro in the Lungotevere Vaticano area (at the level of the Vittorio Emmanuele II Bridge/San Pio X), will present its activities, offering entertainment for children and involving those present with testimonies from mothers. Inside the Basilica of San Salvatore in Lauro, the Civil Protection will present the service it carries out in Italian cities, and the Misericordie, outside the same Basilica, will offer health protection services. In Piazza della Chiesa Nuova, Shelterbox Italia Onlus will be present with a tent in the area, symbol of their activity in the world, inside which they will offer informative material. In Piazza Sant’Ignazio, the volunteers of Aps Il Sorriso will inform visitors about the projects the association carries out, also involving children. Finally, the volunteers of IAD Bambini Ancora will entertain young children with artistic workshops and balloons, and will involve parents with round tables on their themes of interest.
On Sunday 9 March, at 10.30, His Eminence Cardinal Michael Czerny, S.J., prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will preside over the Eucharistic Celebration in Saint Peter’s Square, and will read the homily prepared by the Holy Father for the event. Tickets are not required to participate in the Eucharistic Celebration.
ACCREDITATION PROCEDURE
Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply, no more than 24 hours before the event, via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system, at: press.vatican.va/accreditamenti
PRESS OFFICE – JUBILEE 2025
Dicastery for Evangelization
Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the world
press@iubilaeum2025.va