An estimated one million young Catholics from around the world greeted Pope Leo XIV like a rock star Saturday at an open-air prayer vigil outside Rome, after the head of the Catholic Church made a dramatic entrance by helicopter.
Pilgrims began cheering when the white military helicopter descended over the sprawling, open-air site in Rome’s eastern outskirts.
Organisers estimated the crowd at Saturday’s vigil to be from over 800,000 to one million young pilgrims from 146 countries around the world who had assembled there as part of the “Jubilee of Youth” events which began in Rome this week and will culminate in an open-air mass on Sunday.
Smiling broadly from his popemobile, the first American pope waved to throngs of young, screaming pilgrims lining his route, many of them running for a better vantage point.
They had already spent the day in the hot sun listening to music, praying and talking with fellow Catholics.
“The pope is here!” announced an excited voice over the public address, to thunderous applause and cheers from the crowd.
But the tenor of the event soon became more solemn and contemplative as the pope took to the stage, carrying a large wood cross.
“Dear young people, after walking, praying and sharing these days of grace of the Jubilee dedicated to you, we now gather together in the light of the advancing evening to keep vigil together,” Leo, 69, told them.
Pope Leo XIV is seen aboard a helicopter of the Italian Air Force as he arrives to lead a vigil prayer for the Jubilee of Youth at Tor Vergata, on the outskirts of Rome, Italy, on August 2, 2025. (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Pope Leo XIV arrives by helicopter to Tor Vergata, on the outskirts of Rome, for the Jubilee of Youth prayer vigil on August 2, 2025, in Rome, Italy. (Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Pope Leo XIV waves to the young people gathered in Tor Vergata, on the outskirts of Rome, for the Jubilee of Youth prayer vigil on August 2, 2025 in Rome, Italy. (Simone Risoluti – Vatican Media via Vatican Pool/Getty Images)
Pope Leo XIV carries the cross surrounded by young Catholics from around the world as he leads a vigil prayer for the Jubilee of Youth at Tor Vergata, on the outskirts of Rome, Italy, on August 2, 2025. (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Images)
Youth and pilgrims gather in the eastern Tor Vergata neighborhood of Rome, Italy, on August 2, 2025, for a prayer vigil led by the Pope before Sunday’s Mass as part of the Jubilee of Youth. (Photo by Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
A group of pilgrims wearing shirts of the football club AS Roma with the name of the Pope waits for the beginning of Pope Leo XIV’s vigil prayer for the Jubilee of Youth at Tor Vergata, on the outskirts of Rome, Italy, on August 2, 2025. (Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Young Catholic pilgrims gather in Rome’s eastern Tor Vergata neighborhood on August 2, 2025, for a prayer vigil led by the Pope before Sunday’s Mass as part of the Jubilee of Youth. (Massimo Valicchia/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Young Catholics attend a vigil prayer led by Pope Leo XIV for the Jubilee of Youth at Tor Vergata, on the outskirts of Rome, Italy, on August 2, 2025. (Riccardo De Luca/Anadolu via Getty Images)
A Catholic ‘Woodstock’
In the crowd was French pilgrim Julie Mortier, 18, whose voice was hoarse from singing and screaming for hours.
“We’re too happy to be here! Seeing the pope, that’s a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!” she croaked happily to AFP.
Event organisers said people had continued to arrive during the vigil and that it was possible that attendance numbers had reached one million.
Most pilgrims said they would camp overnight for a Sunday morning mass at the site led by Leo. That will mark the culmination of the week-long youth pilgrimage, a key event in the Catholic Church’s Jubilee holy year.
Some in the crowd were so far away, they could not see the massive stage with a golden arch and towering cross that dominated the vast open area — which at over 500,000 square metres was the size of around 70 football fields.
“I’m so happy to be here, even if I’m a bit far from the pope. I knew what to expect!” British student Andy Hewellyn told AFP.
“The main thing is that we’re all together,” he said ahead of the pope’s appearance, as other young people nearby played guitars, sang, or snoozed in the sun.
Italian broadcaster Rai dubbed the event a Catholic “Woodstock”, as throughout the day nearly two dozen musical and dance groups, many of them religious, entertained the crowds, who lounged among blankets, cushions and umbrellas.
In a video message, Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni welcomed pilgrims to the capital, who were “praying, singing, joking amongst themselves, celebrating in an extraordinary party.”
Meloni also noted that the site of Saturday’s vigil was the same location where “25 years ago, Saint John Paul II gathered over two million people and spoke words that have gone down in history. That day 25 years ago changed the lives of so many. It healed wounds, opened eyes, and showed the way.”
Water and suncream
The “Jubilee of Youth”, which began Monday, comes nearly three months after the start of Leo’s papacy, and 25 years after the last such massive youth gathering in Rome under Poland’s Pope John Paul II.
Early Saturday, countless groups of young people set off from central Rome for the venue in Tor Vergata after filling water bottles, applying suncream and adjusting backpacks.
They were ready to spend the next 24 hours surrounded by a crowd of people and then sleep under the stars.
Attendees get hosed down to cool off as youth and pilgrims gather in Rome’s eastern Tor Vergata neighbourhood for a prayer vigil led by the Pope before Sunday’s Mass as part of the Jubilee of Youth, on August 2, 2025. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Youth and pilgrims gather in Rome’s eastern Tor Vergata neighbourhood for a prayer vigil led by the Pope on August 2, 2025. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Young Catholic faithful and pilgrims wave flags as they gather to participate in the Jubilee of Youth in Rome on July 31, 2025. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Young Catholic pilgrims collect water from a public fountain in Rome during the Jubilee of Youth on July 31, 2025. (ALBERTO PIZZOLI/AFP via Getty Images)
Pope Leo XIV arrives to lead the traditional Wednesday General Audience in St. Peter’s Square on July 30, 2025 as the Jubilee of Youth begins. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Pope Leo XIV greets the young faithful gathered for the start of the Jubilee of Youth, as he arrives for his weekly general audience in St Peter’s Square at the Vatican on July 30, 2025. (Maria Grazia Picciarella/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Victoria Perez, who carried a Spanish flag, could not contain her excitement at seeing “the pope up close”.
“It’s the first time I’m going to see him, and I can’t wait,” the 21-year-old told AFP, looking forward to a “night of prayers under the stars”.
French pilgrim Quentin Remaury, 26, said he had been inspired by the late pope Francis’s rousing message to youth during a 2016 visit to Krakow, Poland.
“Pope Francis told us to ‘get off your couches,’ and that really gave me a boost,” he said.
Open-air confessional
Throughout the week, attendees have participated in Church-planned events, such as confession at Circus Maximus, one of Rome’s top tourist spots.
On Friday, approximately 1,000 priests were on hand, with 200 white gazebos serving as makeshift confessionals lining the hippodrome where chariot races were once held in Ancient Rome and near the sites where ancient Christians were once martyred for their faith.
General view of the Circus Maximus in Rome where tents were assembled as makeshift confessionals for Catholics to receive the sacrament of reconciliation as part of the Youth Jubilee on August 1, 2025. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Young Catholics wait in lines to receive the sacrament of reconciliation at the Circus Maximus in Rome on August 1, 2025. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
Priests hear confessions from young Catholics receiving the sacrament of reconciliation in makeshift confessionals set up at Rome’s Circus Maximus as part of the Youth Jubilee on August 1, 2025. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
A priest talks to a young woman receiving the sacrament of reconciliation in a tent at the Circus Maximus as part of the Youth Jubilee in Rome on August 1, 2025. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
A priest offers absolution to a young woman who received the sacrament of reconciliation in a makeshift confessional in the Circus Maximus in Rome as part of the Youth Jubilee on August 1, 2025. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
A priest offers absolution to a young man who received the sacrament of reconciliation in a makeshift confessional in Rome’s Circus Maximus as part of the Youth Jubilee. (Stefano Costantino/SOPA Images/LightRocket via Getty Images)
The pilgrimage unfolds as under-30s navigate economic uncertainty, climate change, and ongoing international conflict, with some pilgrims travelling from war-torn areas like Syria and Ukraine.
Samarei Semos, 29, who said she had travelled three days from her native Belize to get to Rome, said she hoped Leo would have a strong say about “third world countries”.
The Vatican said that before the vigil the pope had met and prayed with travellers accompanying an 18-year-old Egyptian pilgrim who died Friday night.
Pope Leo XIV holds the monstrance aloft as he leads a prayer vigil before Sunday Mass as part of the Jubilee of Youth, in Rome’s eastern Tor Vergata neighbourhood on August 2, 2025. (FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP via Getty Images)
Rai News reported that the young woman had died of a heart attack on a bus while returning to her lodging from an event in Rome.
Amid tight security, more than 4,300 volunteers and over 1,000 police are watching over the vigil, organisers said.
Watch the full video of the vigil above.
AFP contributed to this story.
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