25,000 people expected from all over the world for the Jubilee of the World of Volunteering

The fifth of the great Jubilee events of 2025 will be held on Saturday 8 and Sunday 9 March, this one dedicated to the World of Volunteering. It is expected that 25,000 pilgrims will come to Rome from over 100 countries around the world for the event.

Among them, will be almost 15,000 volunteers from Italy, with 5,000 from Misericordie groups, 4,000 from Civil Protection and 800 from Italian Caritas. 124 are expected from Spain, 123 from the United States, 85 from Brazil, and large groups will also be present from Poland, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia. There will also be representatives from countries such as Australia, Chile, Ecuador, India.

On Saturday, March 8, the pilgrims, representing many associations and groups, non-profit organizations, and volunteer agencies from all over the world, will make their pilgrimage to the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica between 8am and 5pm and will have the chance to go to confession in the Jubilee churches.

From 3pm to 6pm that day, the "Dialogues with the city" will be held - a series of cultural, artistic, and spiritual gatherings in various Roman piazzas. In Piazza Risorgimento, the Focsiv foundation will host awareness-raising activities on options for volunteering and will organize a program of events in the square for adults and children.

The Movimento per la Vita, will do the same on the banks of the River Tiber, along the Lungotevere Vaticano at the Vittorio Emmanuele II/San Pio X Bridge between 1pm and 5pm The event will have entertainment for children and showcase testimonies from mothers who have benefitted from the work of the association.

Inside the Basilica of San Salvatore in Lauro, Civil Protection volunteers will present their work in Italian cities, and the Misericordie groups, outside the same Basilica, will offer preventative health advice services.

In Piazza della Chiesa Nuova, Shelterbox Italia Onlus will be the hosts. They will set up a tent in the area, a symbol of their activities in the world, inside which they will offer information material.

In Piazza Sant’Ignazio, volunteers from Aps Il Sorriso will raise awareness among visitors about the projects the association carries out, involving children. Finally, the volunteers of IAD Bambini Ancora will entertain children with artistic workshops and balloons and will involve parents in discussion groups.

Meanwhile two organizations – CSV Lazio and the Forum del Terzo Settore Lazio – have arranged for the offices of a dozen or so local voluntary associations to stay open to welcome pilgrims and offer activities throughout the two days of the Jubilee.

On Sunday 9 March, at 10:30 am, His Eminence Cardinal Michael Czerny S.J., Prefect of the Dicastery for Promoting Integral Human Development, will preside over a Mass in St. Peter’s Square, and will read the homily that the Holy Father had planned for this event. No tickets are needed to participate in the Mass