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23
Apr
2016

Jubilee for Boys and Girls

23 April 2016 - 25 April 2016 (Save to calendar)

St. Peter's Square

Saturday, April 23

From 11:00 to 18:00

Piazza of Mercy

Arrival at Saint Peter's for confessions

Passage through the Holy Door and profession of faith at the Tomb of Peter

From 18:00 to 20:00

Travel from Saint Peter's Square to the Olympic Stadium

From 20:00 to 22:00

Youth Rally at the Olympic Stadium

 

Sunday, April 24 (Fifth Sunday of Easter)

10:00

Celebration of the Holy Mass with Pope Francis in Saint Peter's Basilica

From 15:00 to 18:00  

Pilgrimages to the Holy Door continue for those signed up for Sunday                              

 

Monday, April 25 (National Holiday in Italy)

Pilgrimages to the Holy Door continue for those signed up for Monday

During all three days, pilgrims will be able to hear witnesses describing their deep experiences of the Works of Mercy in seven piazzas in the City Center of Rome.

Four Steps to the Jubilee for young Boys and Girls

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Giubileo Ragazzi

First: Pilgrimage

The journey begins with preparation for the Sacrament of Reconciliation. For the Groups that will have not already prepared while traveling to Rome, their priests can prepare their same groups for the sacrament at the 3 Churches dedicated to the Jubilee: San Salvatore in Lauro, Santa Maria in Vallicella (Chiesa Nuova) and San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini. The route then proceeds from these Churches across either Ponte Sant’Angelo or Ponte Duca D’Aosta, to reach Piazza Pia in front of Castel Sant’Angelo, where the reserved walkway for pilgrims begins. The path continues along Via della Conciliazione to arrive, finally, at Saint Peter's Square.

The celebration of the Sacrament of Reconciliation will take place in Saint Peter's Square, inside the arms of the Colonnade, where confessionals will be set up.

Once they have finished confession, the groups will pass through the Holy Door. Inside the Basilica they will proceed to the Tomb of Peter for the profession of faith.

Attention! Access to the pilgrim walkway will be granted only to those who show the pass received in the Pilgrim Kit.

 

Second: Youth Rally

Those who have finished the Jubilee journey to Saint Peter's can proceed to the Olympic Stadium for the youth rally. The estimated travel time, in a group on foot, from Saint Peter's square is about 2 hours. Along the way there will be stands for the distribution of a boxed lunch for the youth, available for those who will have requested it according to the instructions with the online registration form (Check also the box in the right hand column of this page).
The rally will end around 22:00.

 

Third: Holy Mass with Pope Francis

On Sunday morning at 10:00 there will be the Mass presided by Pope Francis. Depending on the number of pilgrims registered and present in the Square, there may be a separate seating area reserved for the pilgrims for the Jubilee for Boys and Girls. Anyone entering this area will need to show the Pass received in the Pilgrim Kit.

 

Fourth: Tents of Mercy

Seven squares in the Central Historic District of Rome will host seven tents that will recount to the pilgrims, and to the citizens of Rome and of the world, testimonies about the spiritual and corporal works of mercy. The seven squares will be: Piazza della Minerva, Piazza del Popolo, Piazza Farnese, Piazza Navona, Piazza S. Maria in Trastevere, Piazza. S. Maria in Vallicella, and Piazza Pia at Castel Sant’Angelo.

Given the full schedule during the days, it will be possible to tour the center of Rome and visit the tents on Saturday either in the morning or immediately after crossing through the Holy Door (before going to the Olympic Stadium for the rally); or else on Sunday afternoon after the Mass; or, for those who extend their stay in Rome, during the day on Monday, April 25 (national holyday in Italy).

 


 

Registration. Useful information.

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REGISTRATION FEE

The fee for participating in the event is € 10.00 per person (including priests, chaperones, youth). Registration supplies each participant with a Pilgrim Kit that includes, among other things, the personal badge that permits pilgrims to access the penitential route, Saint Peter's Square, and the Youth Rally at the Olympic Stadium.
All foreign Groups will pick up their own Pilgrim Kit and Pass at the Pilgrim Information Center in Via della Conciliazione.

 

 

LODGING

On the registration form there is the possibility to request lodgings on the floor at Parishes, Religious Institutes and Catholic schools, for the additional cost of € 10.00 per person. The accommodations are at most for 3 nights: from the evening of Friday, April 22 to the morning of Monday, April 25. The group leaders who request these lodgings will be subsequently contacted by the Organizing Secretariat with information about the location of their lodgings, but only after the registration deadline of March 31, and only after they have made the online payment of their registration and lodging costs.

It is also possible to request assisted lodging at hotels and other participating buildings, thanks to the support services of Vatimecum, or else through the Opera Romana Pellegrinaggi. More information about these resources and their conditions can be found on the registration form.

 

MEANS OF PAYMENT

Below are the bank coordinates to make the payment for your group. We remind you that under the heading “causale” (reason for payment) it is necessary to indicate the group code (which is automatically generated by the online registration system), the name of the group leader, and the following information:

Payee:  Conferenza Episcopale Italiana

Bank:              UNICREDIT

Acc't no.:       400002593

IBAN:              IT  63O  02008  05037  000400002593

BIC SWIFT:    UNCRITM1018

Indicate as the "Reason for Payment": Group Code – Name of the Group Leader – Participation Costs

 

SERVICE PORTAL: www.vatimecum.com

Services for lodgings, meals, insurance, and cultural itineraries may be requested on the service portal, developed through an agreement between the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization (PCPNE) and the company Itineris which will manage the information content and offers for the whole Jubilee Year.

 

MEALS

The agreement between Itineris and the PCNE for a meal plan using meals tickets has a baseline price of € 5.00.

With a single ticket, you can acquire breakfast or a box lunch; with two or more tickets, used together, you can purchase a sit-down lunch or dinner in participating restaurants.

The company is putting together a map of all the food vendors (bars, take-away buffets, restaurants and others) that will participate in this service for the entire Jubilee Year. The map will be available and kept up to date on the service portal.

The vouchers purchased – which are marked with a barcode, and therefore may be used only once - will be sent by email directly to the group leader, who will then be responsible for their distribution.

A special ticket (only for the Jubilee for Boys and Girls) for a takeaway meal for the youth (but available for the entire group) is planned, which will be provided at the usual cost of  € 5.  The contents of the boxed meal will be specified on the web page of the service portal. This special meal ticket can be requested not only for Saturday, but also for Sunday and Monday (also for several boxed meals for each day); all the details of the offer are available on the portal site Vatimecum.

The special ticket for the Jubilee for Young Boys and Girls can be spent starting on breakfast of Saturday, April 23 and ending with lunch of Sunday, April 25. Unlike the generic tickets that may be used for breakfast and at cafes and restaurants, the youth meal tickets can be used only for this specific boxed meal service.

Distribution points for the boxed meals will be organized in the City Center of Rome (Centro Storico) and along the route to the Olympic Stadium.

 

OTHER SERVICES

For other services for Lodging/Bookings, Insurance, and Cultural Itineraries, visit the site www.vatimecum.com.

 

TRANSPORTATION - BUSES - PUBLIC TRANSPORTATION

You can consult the prices for tour buses within the city on the site www.agenziamobilita.roma.it/it/permessi/pullman‐turistici. On the site www.Atacroma.it, you can find the prices set by the Comune di Roma for public transportation during the weekend.

The city management is not planning any special arrangements for public transportation for pilgrims.
Regarding the access of buses in the city, it will be possible for buses to enter to pick up and drop off passengers at their lodgings.  At this time a plan for permitting buses to pick up passengers after the rally at the Olympic Stadium is still under consideration.

 

 

HOMILY OF HIS HOLINESS POPE FRANCIS

Saint Peter's Square
Sunday, 24 April 2016

 

“By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another” (Jn 13:35).

Dear young friends, what an enormous responsibility the Lord gives us today! He tells us that the world will recognize the disciples of Jesus by the way they love one another. Love, in other words, is the Christian’s identity card, the only valid “document” identifying us as Christians. It is the only valid document. If this card expires and is not constantly renewed, we stop being witnesses of the Master. So I ask you: Do you wish to say yes to Jesus’ invitation to be his disciples? Do you wish to be his faithful friends? The true friends of Jesus stand out essentially by the genuine love; not some “pie in the sky” love; no, it is a genuine love that shines forth in their way of life. Love is always shown in real actions. Those who are not real and genuine and who speak of love are like characters is a soap opera, some fake love story. Do you want to experience his love? Do you want this love: yes or no? Let us learn from him, for his words are a school of life, a school where we learn to love. This is a task which we must engage in every day: to learn how to love.

Before all else, love is beautiful, it is the path to happiness. But it is not an easy path. It is demanding and it requires effort. Think, for example, of when we receive a gift. It makes us happy, but receiving a gift means that someone generous has invested time and effort; by their gift they also give us a bit of themselves, a sacrifice they have made. Think too of the gift that your parents and group leaders have given you in allowing you to come to Rome for this Jubilee day dedicated to you. They planned, organized, and prepared everything for you, and this made them happy, even if it meant that they had to give up a trip for themselves. This is putting love into action. To love means to give, not only something material, but also something of one’s self: one’s own time, one’s friendship, one’s own abilities.

Look to the Lord, who is never outdone in generosity. We receive so many gifts from him, and every day we should thank him… Let me ask you something. Do you thank the Lord every day? Even if we forget to do so, he never forgets, each day, to give us some special gift. It is not something material and tangible that we can use, but something even greater, a life-long gift. What does the Lord give to us? He offers us his faithful friendship, which he will never take back. The Lord is a friend forever. Even if you disappoint him and walk away from him, Jesus continues to want the best for you and to remain close to you; he believes in you even more than you believe in yourself. This is an example of genuine love that Jesus teaches to us. This is very important! Because the biggest threat to growing up well comes from thinking that no one cares about us - and that is always a sadness - from feeling that we are all alone. The Lord, on the other hand, is always with you and he is happy to be with you. As he did with his first disciples, he looks you in the eye and he calls you to follow him, to “put out into the deep” and to “cast your nets wide” trusting in his words and using your talents in life, in union with him, without fear. Jesus is waiting patiently for you. He awaits your response. He is waiting for you to say “yes”.

Dear young friends, at this stage in your lives you have a growing desire to demonstrate and receive affection. The Lord, if you let him teach you, will show you how to make tenderness and affection even more beautiful. He will guide your hearts to “love without being possessive”, to love others without trying to own them but letting them be free. Because love is free! There is no true love that is not free! The freedom that the Lord gives to us is his love for us. He is always close to each one of us. There is always a temptation to let our affections be tainted by an instinctive desire to “have to have” what we find pleasing; this is selfishness. Our consumerist culture reinforces this tendency. Yet when we hold on too tightly to something, it fades, it dies, and then we feel confused, empty inside. The Lord, if you listen to his voice, will reveal to you the secret of love. It is caring for others, respecting them, protecting them and waiting for them. This is putting tenderness and love into action.

At this point in life you feel also a great longing for freedom. Many people will say to you that freedom means doing whatever you want. But here you have to be able to say no. If you do not know how to say “no”, you are not free. The person who is free is he or she who is able to say “yes” and who knows how to say “no”. Freedom is not the ability simply to do what I want. This makes us self-centred and aloof, and it prevents us from being open and sincere friends; it is not true to say “it is good enough if it serves me”. No, this is not true. Instead, freedom is the gift of being able to choose the good: this is true freedom. The free person is the one who chooses what is good, what is pleasing to God, even if it requires effort, even if it is not easy. I believe that you young men and women are not afraid to make the effort, that you are indeed courageous! Only by courageous and firm decisions do we realize our greatest dreams, the dreams which it is worth spending our entire lives to pursue. Courageous and noble choices. Do not be content with mediocrity, with “simply going with the flow”, with being comfortable and laid back. Don’t believe those who would distract you from the real treasure, which you are, by telling you that life is beautiful only if you have many possessions. Be sceptical about people who want to make you believe that you are only important if you act tough like the heroes in films or if you wear the latest fashions. Your happiness has no price. It cannot be bought: it is not an app that you can download on your phones nor will the latest update bring you freedom and grandeur in love. True freedom is something else altogether.

That is because love is a free gift which calls for an open heart; love is a responsibility, but a noble responsibility which is life-long; it is a daily task for those who can achieve great dreams! Woe to your people who do not know how to dream, who do not dare to dream! If a person of your age is not able to dream, if they have already gone into retirement… this is not good. Love is nurtured by trust, respect and forgiveness. Love does not happen because we talk about it, but when we live it: it is not a sweet poem to study and memorize, but is a life choice to put into practice! How can we grow in love? The secret, once again, is the Lord: Jesus gives us himself in the Mass, he offers us forgives and peace in Confession. There we learn to receive his love, to make it ours and to give it to the world. And when loving seems hard, when it is difficult to say no to something wrong, look up at Jesus on the cross, embrace the cross and don’t ever let go of his hand. He will point you ever higher, and pick you up whenever you fall. Throughout life we will fall many times, because we are sinners, we are weak. But there is always the hand of God who picks us up, who raises us up. Jesus wants us to be up on our feet! Think of the beautiful word Jesus said to the paralytic: “Arise!”. God has created us to be on our feet. There is a lovely song that mountain climbers sing as they climb. It goes like this: “In climbing, the important thing is not to not fall, but to not remain fallen!. To have the courage to pick oneself up, to allow oneself to be raised up by Jesus. And his hand is often given through the hand of a friend, through the hand of one’s parents, through the hand of those who accompany us throughout life. Jesus himself is present in them. So arise! God wants us up on our feet, ever on our feet!

I know that you are capable of acts of great friendship and goodness. With these you are called to build the future, together with others and for others, but never against anyone! One never builds “against”; this is called “destruction”. You will do amazing things if you prepare well, starting now, by living your youth and all its gifts to the fullest and without fear of hard work. Be like sporting champions, who attain high goals by quiet daily effort and practice. Let your daily programme be the works of mercy. Enthusiastically practice them, so as to be champions in lifechampions in love! In this way you will be recognized as disciples of Jesus. In this way, you will have the identification card of the Christian. And I promise you: your joy will be complete.

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