Pope Leo XIV concluded the Catholic Church’s Holy Year on Tuesday with a heartfelt call to Christians worldwide, urging them to assist those in need and extend kindness to foreigners.
Throughout his papacy, Leo has consistently emphasized the significance of supporting immigrants. During a Vatican ceremony, he commented on the staggering 33.5 million pilgrims who visited Rome for the Holy Year, encouraging them to move beyond viewing people as mere “commodities.”
“We are surrounded by an economy that seeks to exploit everything,” Leo remarked. “After this year, have we learned to see a pilgrim in the visitor, a seeker in the stranger, a neighbor in the foreigner?”
Pope Leo XIV wrapped up the Catholic Church’s Holy Year by calling for global Christian compassion towards those in need and foreigners.
Holy Years, also known as jubilees, are generally celebrated every 25 years and represent a time of peace, forgiveness, and redemption. Pilgrims journeying to Rome have the opportunity to pass through special “Holy Doors” at four major basilicas and participate in papal events throughout the year.
The ceremonial closing of the special bronze door at St. Peter’s Basilica by Leo on Tuesday morning symbolically marked the end of the Holy Year.
The next Holy Year is not expected before 2033, when the Catholic Church may hold a special one to mark 2,000 years since the death of Jesus.
Pope Leo XIV said the record pilgrims who visited Rome during the Holy Year should have learned not to treat people as mere “products.” (Alberto PIZZOLI / AFP via Getty Images))
On Monday, the Vatican and Italian officials said pilgrims to Rome for the 2025 jubilee came from 185 countries, with the majority from Italy, the U.S., Spain, Brazil and Poland.
The 2025 jubilee was opened by the late Pope Francis, who died in April, and closed by Leo, who was elected in May, making him the first American pope.
It was a historical rarity not seen in 300 years for it to be opened by one pope and closed by another. The last jubilee held under two different popes was in the year 1700, when Innocent XII opened the Holy Year that was then closed by Clement XI.
Pope Leo XIV shut the special bronze door at St. Peter’s Basilica on Tuesday morning, which officially marked the end of the Holy Year. (Gregorio Borgia/AP)
Leo, who has promised to keep Francis’ signature policies such as welcoming gay Catholics and discussing women’s ordination, echoed his predecessor’s frequent criticisms of the global economic system during his remarks on Tuesday.
The markets “turn human yearnings of seeking, traveling and beginning again into a mere business,” Leo said.
