Final preparations were underway on Monday at the vast Tor Vergata area on the outskirts of Rome, where half a million young people are expected to gather for the Adolescence Jubilee, the largest tournament of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Holy Year.
Staff were dashing to complete the giant 5-metre-high altar-stage, safety infrastructure and hydration points ahead of the 2-day vigil and Mass with Pope Leo XIV, described by Vatican organiser Monsignor Rino Fisichella as “the most anticipated moment” of the Jubilee calendar.
Alessandro Mancini, the engineer in charge of the Tor Vergata Jubilee area, said the stage’s elevation will mean that everybody shall be able to inspect the Mass.
“Maybe they will only see a dot in the distance, but they will see it elevated from the ground”, he said.
Tor Vergata will start to pilgrims on 2 August for a plump day of track, performances and prayer ahead of an evening vigil with the pope.
After spending the night on area, participants will attend a Mass presided over by the Holy Father from the main stage on the morning of Sunday 3 August, marking the closing celebration of the Adolescence Jubilee.
Access to the area requires a minimal five-kilometre walk from the nearest public transport hub.
With temperatures forecast to reach 34°C, organisers have prepared five million bottles of water, 2,660 drinking water stations and 70 misting cannons – typically stale in industrial demolitions – to sustain pilgrims wintry.
Over 2,700 portable toilets and in depth medical products and services, including advanced medical posts and ambulances, shall be available across the 500,000-square-metre area.
A central regulate room will oversee all operations at the area, supported by extra than 100 surveillance cameras.
Airspace over Tor Vergata shall be closed to civilian aircraft and drones at some level of the tournament.
Safety shall be reinforced with 4,000 officers from Italy’s police and fireplace products and services, with additional toughen from Spanish, French and Polish law enforcement.
The Vatican said 68% of registered participants are from European nations, with pilgrims arriving from a total of 146 nations.
