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2025 Vatican Jubilee - An estimated 35 million pilgrims expected

Posted by (Redwood City & Uppsala Sweden) on

Somewhere in our travels to Rome over NYE, someone mentioned the 2025 Vatican Jubilee, and I wondered just how crowded would Rome get next year? (I did a search but can't find any threads on this topic, please let me know if there is one.)

Although it's difficult / impossible to extrapolate - 35 million tourists visited Rome in 2023, so a reasonable question would be, could that number come close to doubling next year?
(I looked up the annual pilgrim estimates, about 3500 in 2023, so this is a significant increase.) https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/news/254346/rome-prepares-for-35-million-pilgrims-during-2025-jubilee-year

According to the article, "Lewis, who participated in the Jubilees of 1983, 1987, 2000, and 2016, noted that if people can plan their visit in non-peak times it could be helpful but to be prepared for throngs regardless. “If they can choose ‘the road less traveled’ that will probably augment their appreciation,” she said, *noting that the busiest times will probably be the summer, holidays, and the opening and closing of the Holy Door.**
“Be prepared for crowds. Bring patience along with your comfiest walking shoes,” Lewis added."*

Posted by
70 posts

As an aside, we were in Rome during the Jubilee of Mercy in Oct 2016. We timed our visit to St. Peter’s to arrive about lunchtime when tour groups departed. We walked right up and through the Holy Door without a wait and had a very pleasant, non-crowded experience inside St. Peter’s. This was our second visit and the second time we arrived or stayed through the lunch hours and it paid off big time with many fewer people.

Posted by
27202 posts

I foresee difficulties with lodging. I was in Rome last year between mid-February and mid-March. The manager(?) of my fairly small 3-star hotel in Monti told me the hotel was running nearly full all the time. There was maintenance they wanted to do, but there didn't seem to be any downtime to do it.

Posted by
670 posts

Yes, agreed about lodging being full, and I would think it will be even tougher to get monastery rooms given the number of pilgrims? In any case, after our NY trip Dec 23-Jan 24, we really were exhausted so we're reevaluating where & when we travel, which I know is a luxury so we will just relax and go to smaller cities, or to destinations when it's not peak season.

Posted by
50 posts

My impression is that Rome, and especially the Vatican, have become more crowded year after year, and was especially crowded when I was there this past October, far more than what I remember from 11 years prior. I would expect the Jubilee to only add to that.

You might get away with diminished crowds in January and February, but the rest of the year ought to be very busy indeed.

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