Italy: More than a million faithful attended the closing Mass of the Jubilee celebrated by Pope Leo XIV this Sunday.

Pope Leo XIV celebrated an open-air mass in Rome this Sunday in front of more than a million young pilgrims, closing a Jubilee that attracted Catholics from all over the world.

"There is a burning question in our hearts, a need for truth that we cannot ignore, which leads us to ask: what is true happiness? What is the true meaning of life? What can free us from being trapped in absurdity, boredom, and mediocrity?" the 69-year-old pontiff said in his homily.

“Don’t settle for less”

“Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you may be. Do not settle for less,” Leo XIV urged the young faithful. “Upon your return to your countries, continue to walk with joy in the footsteps of the Savior, and spread your enthusiasm and the testimony of your faith to all those you meet.”

The week-long celebrations conclude this Sunday, the culmination of the Jubilee Holy Year, the day after a giant vigil in the vast open space on the outskirts of the city. On Saturday evening, before the vigil, organizers reported an attendance of 800,000 people. On Sunday, the Vatican announced that number had risen to one million.

Most of the participants slept on the ground in tents, sleeping bags or on mats, waiting for Sunday Mass under sunny skies.

To the sound of choir music, green-clad bishops began filling the enormous stage — covered with a golden arch and a massive cross — before the pope, who arrived by helicopter, began the Mass. The Vatican said 450 bishops and about 700 priests participated in the Mass.

Catholic "Woodstock"

The festive atmosphere reached its peak on Saturday, before the vigil, and the Italian television channel Rai called it a Catholic "Woodstock."

Hundreds of thousands of young people camped at the dusty outdoor site, strumming guitars or singing, dozing, as music blared from the stage where a series of religious groups entertained the crowd.

The youth pilgrimage took place about three months into Leo's pontificate and 25 years after former Pope John Paul II held the last similar gathering in Rome.