Over 600 vibrant young adults from Ireland will travel to Rome from 28 July to 3 August 2025 to take part in the Jubilee of Youth – an international celebration held as part of the Jubilee Year 2025 under the theme Pilgrims of Hope. They will travel with several Irish bishops, including Bishop Fintan Gavin, Bishop of Cork and Ross and Chair of the Council for Evangelisation, Catechetics and Pastoral Renewal for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference.
The Jubilee of Youth will gather over 100,000 young Catholics from around the world for a transformative week of prayer, pilgrimage, catechesis, and Eucharistic celebrations. The week will culminate in an all-night vigil and a Mass celebrated by Pope Leo. Young adults groups from dioceses and movements from all across Ireland have spent months engaging in formation, reflection, and fundraising in preparation for this spiritual journey.
Speaking ahead of the pilgrimage, Bishop Gavin said, “This Jubilee is a powerful reminder that young people are not just the future of the Church – they are its present. To walk together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ in the heart of Rome, alongside young Catholics from every continent, is a deeply spiritual and life-affirming experience. I look forward to journeying with the young people of Cork and Ross, and those from across Ireland, as we respond to the late Pope Francis’ call to renewal and hope.”
Pilgrims will be hosted at key venues throughout the Eternal City, with a tailored programme developed by the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference in collaboration with the Pontifical Irish College, Rome. The programme includes:
- Morning Catechesis and Eucharist at Instituto Santa Maria, led by renowned speakers including Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ of Down and Connor, Sister Mary Grace SV, and Bishop Robert Barron, Bishop of the Diocese of Winona–Rochester in the United States, and founder of Word on Fire.
- A national Irish Pilgrims’ gathering on Thursday, 31 July, at the historic Pontifical Irish College, led by Bishop Gavin and featuring music from acclaimed Christian artist Sarah Kroger.
- A deeply moving ‘Way of the Cross’ through the streets of Rome on Friday, 1 August, beginning at the Irish College and concluding with international pilgrims at the Basilica of Santa Croce, home to relics of the True Cross.
In Ireland, the Jubilee Year is also being marked at three national pilgrimage sites: Knock Shrine, Croagh Patrick, and Saint Patrick’s Purgatory (Lough Derg), inviting pilgrims to engage deeply in the Jubilee at home.
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Notes for Editors