(ANS – Rome) – With the closing of the last Holy Door, that of St. Peter’s Basilica in the Vatican, on Tuesday, December 6, 2026, the Solemnity of the Epiphany, the 25th Ordinary Universal Jubilee, proclaimed by Pope Francis with the bull Spes non confundit (“Hope does not disappoint”) and later carried forward by Leo XIV, came to a solemn conclusion.

Although there were many ways to experience and savor the grace of the Jubilee—not limited to pilgrimages to the Holy Doors—and despite the fact that the Holy Doors were spread throughout countless churches, shrines, prisons, and other emblematic places around the world, special attention was traditionally given to the city of Rome, the epicenter of the Jubilee event. Here, then, are some figures from the 2025 Jubilee in Rome, as released at the event’s closing press conference.

The Total Number of Pilgrims

In total, more than 33 million pilgrims from 185 different countries came to Rome for the Jubilee, exceeding the forecasts made on the eve of the event, as noted by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization and the Vatican’s official responsible for the Jubilee.

The official count of participants—33,475,369 pilgrims—was made possible by a technological system installed at the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, where a camera recorded daily passages.

For the other three papal basilicas (St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls), the count was conducted using proportional estimates and the support of volunteers with manual counters. In addition, data from official registrations and participation in major events were taken into account.

Origins

As for the places of departure of the “pilgrims of hope,” at the continental level, Europe accounted for the largest share (62.63%), followed by North America (16.54%), South America (9.44%), and Asia (7.69%). Smaller numbers came from Oceania (1.14%), Central America and the Caribbean (1.04%), Africa (0.95%), and the Middle East (0.46%).

At the national level, Italy led the ranking with more than a third of the total (36.34%), followed in the top ten by the United States (12.57%), España (6.23%), Brazil (4.67%), Poland (3.69%), Germany (3.16%), the United Kingdom(2.81%), China (2.79%), Mexico (2.37%), and France (2.31%). There were also significant numbers of visitors from Argentina, Canada, Portugal, Colombia, Australia, and the Philippines.

The Planned Calendar and Unexpected Events

The entire Holy Year was marked by special events dedicated to specific groups such as families, young people, the elderly, Eastern Catholics, catechists, healthcare workers, artists, teenagers, athletes, and others. In most cases, these were special weekends, beginning with the Jubilee for the world of communications on January 24–26, 2025 (coinciding with the feast of the patron saint of journalists, St. Francis de Sales) and concluding with the Jubilee for prisoners on December 14.

A total of 32 special themed events took place, among which the Jubilee for Young People stood out. With its longer duration (July 21–August 10) and the enthusiasm that characterized it, this event recorded an impressive 13 million passages through the Holy Doors.

During the Jubilee, three additional unplanned events of global significance also occurred: the funeral of Pope Francis(April 26, 2025), the subsequent Conclave, and the election of the new Pontiff (May 8, 2025). These events were integrated into the Jubilee calendar, attracting a total of nearly 4 million pilgrims and renewing worldwide attention on the Jubilee.

Furthermore, following the election of Pope Leo XIV, there was an unexpected—but well-managed—increase in the flow of pilgrims. Rome, under international scrutiny for an entire year, successfully met the challenge thanks to institutional cooperation and strong organizational capacity.

The “Jubilee Method”

During the press conference, the Mayor of Rome and Italy’s Special Commissioner for the Jubilee, Roberto Gualtieri, highlighted the tangible legacy left by the Jubilee: 332 infrastructure projects, of which 204 have already been completed or are at an advanced stage, using more than 75% of the allocated resources, totaling €1.725 billion.

Finally, speakers emphasized the effectiveness of the collaboration established among the various administrations. This led the Mayor of Rome to coin the expression “Jubilee method,” referring to the fruitful cooperation achieved among all parties involved.