Visiting interior of St Peter’s during a pilgrimage program

I've never visited in a Pilgrimage year - the closest we got was the election of a new Pope.

Just to say that for the 4 in your party keen on the inside of St Peters - it is big on the outside and even bigger on the inside. The place is BIG. And with lots of folks always moving around from one part to another, it can get a bit crowded and slow to get through - you will want to leave plenty of time to see all there is to see, and there is lots.

What happens at 1 pm? Is that the timed tickets time for the Vatican Museums?

If so, you will be tired after tramping through there, and it is a fairish old walk from the exit back around to the security line for St Peters.

The Pilgrimage (as noted in the Jubilee calendar) is through the basilica's Holy Doors. That's a special queue for pilgrims that requires registration for access. Other visitors will enter the basilica through the normal entry.

https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/pellegrinaggio/calendario-giubileo/GrandiEventi/Giubileo-degli-Operatori-di-Giustizia.html

The "Walks of Italy" website states:
https://www.walksofitaly.com/blog/travel-tips/rome-2025-jubilee

No major closures: The Vatican and its landmarks, including St.
Peter’s Basilica, will remain open to visitors throughout the year.
The Basilica may close temporarily for Papal Masses or audiences, but
this is standard practice and unrelated to the Jubilee.

One of those standard practices is for the basilica to be inaccessible on Wed. mornings, if the Pope is in residence and is scheduled to hold a general audience, but as you're going on a Sat. that's not an issue for you.

I don’t know how the pilgrimage program might affect the number of visitors at St. Peter’s but we have found that the number of visitors significantly decreases when the tour groups leave for lunch at about noon. We’ve witnessed this on two different visits and if I returned again I would try for a time frame that encompasses the lunch hour.

I’m a retired high school teacher and used to travel with my students to Europe (during summer breaks and for 20 years). I am fortunate in the fact I was able to visit Rome many, many times with my students and after retiring, with my husband. Out of our group of six adults, four of them haven’t seen the Vatican Museums/St. Peter’s. I was afraid that if we’d tour during the same hours as the pilgrimage program, our access from the Sistine Chapel, which is last on our tour of the Vatican Museum(s), we may be denied access. The group is really hoping to see the inside of St. Peter’s, which is enormous, but I just didn’t want to take a chance we’d be denied access. So, hence, the plan to visit the V.Museum(s) right after a quick lunch and perhaps avoid any special pilgrimage program that might be going on. Thanking you all for your insights!!!

it sounds like you you are counting on using the special tours only door and special passage into the Basilica. My understanding is that that entrance is much more restricted now than in prior years. I would check with your private guide to see if they are on the list. It is normally only for groups. I don't know if 6 and a private guide counts.

Good advice from Nigel, Barbara. I'd check with your guide to make absolutely sure they're allowed to use that interior passage from the Sistine; not all tours have that advantage.