11/11/2025

PRESS RELEASE

FROM 14 TO 16 NOVEMBER – JUBILEE OF THE POOR

(Vatican City, 11/11/2025) – From Friday 14 to Sunday 16 November 2025, the Jubilee of the Poor will be held in Rome, during which the ninth edition of the World Day of the Poor will be celebrated on Sunday 16. Ten thousand pilgrims from all over the world will participate in the Jubilee, especially people in conditions of vulnerabilty and poverty, assisted by charitable associations of the dioceses, volunteers and workers.

The Jubilee event will begin on Frida yat 17.30 with the “Vigil of Mercy”, animated by the French association “Fratello”, at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls. Then, on Saturday 15 November, between 9.00 and 15.00 the pilgrims will pass through the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica. In the afternoon, at 16.00, the “Fratello” Association will lead a second Marian prayer event in Saint Peter’s Square.

On Sunday 16 November, as previously indicated, the Ninth World Day of the Poor will be celebrated, and for the occasion Pope Leo XIV will preside over the Eucharistic Celebration in Saint Peter’s Square at 10.00. The relics of Saint Benedict Joseph Labre, known as “God’s vagabond”, which are normally preserved in the Church of Santa Maria ai Monti, will be present in the Basilica. Labre is a saint who was homeless, and chose the Colosseum as his home. The motto chosen by the Holy Father for this year’s edition is taken from Psalm 71, v. 5: “You, O Lord, are my hope”, as announced on 13 June. The tickets to participate in the Mass are free of charge and can be collected at the Official Jubilee 2025 Info Point at Via della Conciliazione 7, from Wednesday 12 November, every day from 9.00 to 18.00, subject to availability.

Present in the Basilica will be the poor and associations engaged on a daily basis in the accompaniment of those most in need, 1300 of whom, after Mass, will be guests at lunch with the Pope in the Paul VI Hall, organized by the Dicastery for the Service of Charity. After lunch, each person will receive the gift of a rucksack containing basic necessities, thanks to the support of the Vincentian Fathers, who, on the occasion of the 400th anniversary of their founding, wished to pay a tribute to the poor with a tangible gesture of proximity. The initiative, proposed for the first time in 2017, was strongly desired by Pope Francis to encourage the Church to “come out” from behind her own walls in order to encounter poverty in the many forms in which it manifests itself in today's world. As every year, the Dicastery for Evangelization has prepared a pastoral resource, available in six languages, which is intended as a handy tool for dioceses, parishes and all the various ecclesial realities to prepare for and celebrate this event, in a very special way in this Holy Year. The resource is available free of charge on the Dicastery's website: https://www.evangelizatio.va/content/pcpne/it/attivita/gmdp/2025/sussidio.html

In the week leading up to World Day of the Poor, a series of solidarity initiatives are planned by the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development. These include the special opening of the Madre di Misericordia clinic, located under Bernini's Colonnade. The clinic, which already offers free healthcare to the poor on a daily basis, will be open continuously from 8.00 to 18.00 during the week of 10 to 15 November. Every day, general and specialist medical examinations and dental examinations will be provided, as well as flu vaccinations and blood tests. Every day, general and specialist medical examinations, dental check-ups, flu vaccinations and blood tests will be provided. Removable dentures, glasses and hearing aids will be donated. The medicines needed by those in need will also be delivered directly to them, free of charge.

Every month, over 2,000 healthcare services are provided free of charge at the clinic, thanks to the work of 120 volunteer doctors, nurses and healthcare technicians. Around 10,000 poor people of 139 different nationalities receive assistance. To date, 102,060 healthcare services have been provided and 141,200 packs of medicines distributed. Furthermore, given the growing demand for care, the new San Martino clinic will be inaugurated on the occasion of the Ninth World Day of the Poor. The clinic was built in collaboration with the Health and Hygiene Department of the Governorate of Vatican City and is equipped with two new examination rooms with state-of-the-art equipment and a new radiology service which, thanks to a latest-generation X-ray machine, will enable rapid and accurate diagnosis of bone fractures, degenerative diseases, tumours, pneumonia, kidney stones and intestinal obstructions, all conditions that are often neglected in those living in poverty.

Another very important initiative is the opening in Parma of the Laundry of Saint Francis of Assisi, a service created thanks to the collaboration of the local Caritas and Procter&Gamble, a place where people in need and without a fixed abode can find everything they need for their personal hygiene and laundry free of charge, also giving them the opportunity to use the shower facilities. Added to this is a new extraordinary journey of hope to Ukraine, desired by Pope Leo XIV: in fact, in the coming days a lorry will depart, destined for Kharkiv, one of the cities most most affected by the war, to deliver basic necessities, clothing and warm blankets to the population.

Among the solidarity initiatives are those promoted, as every year, by the Dicastery for Evangelization, which will continue to support less well-off families, for example, by paying their bills and providing vouchers for supermarket purchases. For this charity, we are particularly grateful for the generosity of UnipolSai, which never fails to offer its valuable collaboration.

As Pope Leo XIV writes in his Message: “The poor can be witnesses to a strong and steadfast hope, precisely because they embody it in the midst of uncertainty, poverty, instability and marginalization. They cannot rely on the security of power and possessions; on the contrary, they are at their mercy and often victims of them. Their hope must necessarily be sought elsewhere. By recognizing that God is our first and only hope, we too pass from fleeting hopes to a lasting hope”.

DETAILED PROGRAMME

https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo/GrandiEventi/Giubileo-dei-Poveri.html

ACCEDITATION PROCEDURE

Journalists and media operators who wish to participate must apply via the Holy See Press Office online accreditation system at: press.vatican.va/accreditamenti

CONTACTS

PRESS OFFICE – JUBILEE 2025
Dicastery for Evangelization
Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World
press@iubilaeum2025.va