July 27-August 3, 2025
A small group of young people from the Holy Land lived a truly extraordinary experience this summer. They write:
In this blessed and special year, despite the destruction and ongoing wars, we decided to participate in the Jubilee of Youth held in Rome, Italy, at the beginning of August. There were six of us from the Middle East: five from the Holy Land – from Jerusalem, Haifa and the village of Jish in Galilee – and a young woman from Egypt.
We left for our pilgrimage on July 27, filled with joy and with the desire to live a spiritual and human experience on a personal and also collective level with the whole Church. We asked for the blessing of peace for our countries and we included in our prayers all the young people who would have liked to come with us, but did not have the opportunity.
At the beginning of our trip, we visited the beautiful city of Assisi. It never stopped raining, but this did not prevent many young people, especially from different and distant countries such as Brazil, from visiting it. We entered the Church of St. Clare of Assisi and the Church of the Exile of St. Francis of Assisi, where the tomb of (now Saint) Carlo Acutis is located, convinced that holiness is not a distant dream, but a choice that each of us can live. We asked for many blessings for the young people of our countries, for our families and for the whole world.
We visited Loppiano, the permanent international little city of the Focolare. During our tour we discovered the symbolism of the Theotokos Church (= the Church of the Mother of God). It is a Jubilee Church, with a unique architecture that helps deepen the spirituality of the Focolare which is based on the charism of unity and Jesus forsaken. Renata Borlone, a focolarina who has been proclaimed “Servant of God” is buried in the church and we asked for her special intercession.
The only law of this city is the law of mutual love, which makes this Church a true Marian shrine because of Jesus in the midst of its citizens (cf. Mt. 18:20). He truly dwells in this city, which is the greatest miracle.
While in Loppiano, we also visited the Sophia University Institute and the "Centro Ave" Ceramics Art Center where we admired the professionalism, great care and harmony with which the works of art are made.
We were very impressed by the fact that those who visit the city of Loppiano, even for an hour, and make the commitment to live mutual love are considered citizens of the little city.
In Rome, from July 31 to August 3, we joined a larger group, an international group of Focolare youth from Italy, Eastern Europe, Venezuela, Brazil, Mexico, the Middle East and beyond. We visited various churches and heard about the life of Cardinal Van Tuan, a true martyr of Christian hope.
In St. Peter's Square at the Vatican, we participated in a prayer vigil entitled "You are a rock". (You are Peter)
In the Basilica of St. John Lateran we passed through the Holy Door, one of the "signs" of the Jubilee journey.
The journey ended with a pilgrimage with all the young people present in Rome for the Jubilee of the Youth. We walked to Tor Vergata to experience a special evening with His Holiness Pope Leo XIV. It was a moment full of joy marked by life experiences, hymns, Q&A with the Pope and adoration of the Holy Eucharist. The pilgrimage ended on Sunday, August 3, 2025, with Holy Mass presided by Pope Leo XIV, in the presence of a million young people from all over the world.
Impression of one of the participants: Maria Nakhleh (from Galilee).
The prayer vigil at Tor Vergata, the hymns and silently prostrating myself in the presence of the living Son of God in the sacrament of the Eucharist, despite the large number of young people present, touched me deeply. My heart was filled with gratitude to all the young people who are part of the Church, my Mother.
I was happy not to come to the Jubilee alone, but to participate with other people who have become friends along the way, and here I quote the words of Pope Leo XIV, during the two days he spoke to us: "Friendship can truly change the world. Friendship is a path to peace (…) There we find happiness: when we learn to give ourselves, to give our lives for others. (…) Aspire to great things, to holiness, wherever you are. Don't settle for less. Then you will see the light of the Gospel grow every day, in you and around you."
On this journey I learned that hope is the certainty that the Holy Spirit guides the Church and this revives hope in my heart.
By drawing closer to the mystery of the Father's mercy, I become (I feel) a new creation.
And I realized that I can choose, despite the circumstances of my life with so many difficulties, darkness, uncertainty and pain… to continue to walk as Mary, the Mother of God, did, because our hope is alive: Jesus is risen. It was a journey full of many gifts and encounters. Many assured us of their prayers for us and our country and offered their difficulties for us and for peace in our country. I was grateful for the opportunity to participate, near the stage, on the evening of prayers with Cardinal Zuppi, in the Vatican, and also grateful for the many people who opened their homes to us with so much love.
