Catholic jubilee: What is it and should you still travel to Italy this year?

Published

3 months ago

April 7, 2025

admin

The King and Queen are set to begin a state visit to Italy, a trip that coincides with the Catholic jubilee year, an event that only happens every 25 years.

The four-day visit will see Charles and Camilla attend a series of public and diplomatic events in the capital, Rome, and the city of Ravenna.

This year, Rome expects to welcome three times its normal number of visitors – between 30 and 32 million, compared to an average of 10 million – as Catholics travel to the city for the jubilee, which marks a time of pilgrimage, reflection, and spiritual renewal.

The jubilee, also known as the holy year, officially began on 24 December 2024 and will run until 6 January 2026.

With major events throughout the year, Rome will be particularly busy – so much so that the UK Foreign Office has updated its advice for tourists planning to travel there.

Here is everything you need to know.

What is the Catholic jubilee?

A jubilee year is a time for Catholics to “re-establish a proper relationship with God, one another and with all of creation”, according to the Catholic Church in England and Wales.

Each jubilee year starts with the Pope opening the Holy Doors at St Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve in the Vatican City. This represents the passage from sin to grace and new beginnings. The pontiff then opens a further four Holy Doors which remain open for the entire year.

This jubilee year, the Pope opened San Giovanni in Laterano (St John Lateran) on 29 December, Santa Maria Maggiore (St Mary Major) on 1 January and St Paul’s Outside the Walls on 5 January.

For the first time, he also opened a Holy Door at a prison. He opened one at Rebibbia new complex prison in Rome on 26 December as a gesture of hope for prisoners.

As the pontiff, the Pope has the authority to proclaim any church door as a Holy Door.

The goal of pilgrims who travel to Rome during a jubilee year is to pass through at least one of the Holy Doors.

Why are the royals going to Italy?

Despite being head of the Church of England, the King was set to meet the Pope, a meeting that would have marked “a significant step forward in relations between the Catholic Church and Church of England”, according to Buckingham Palace.

However, due to the 88-year-old pontiff recovering from pneumonia, the private meeting between the two has been postponed.

Instead of going to the Holy See – the government of the Roman Catholic Church located in the Vatican – Charles and Camilla will make a historic visit to the Papal Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls and the King will become the first British monarch to address a joint session of the Italian parliament.

During the last jubilee, in the year 2000, Queen Elizabeth II met with Pope John Paul II at the Vatican.

Can I still travel to Italy this year?

Rome is expected to be “very busy” throughout this year, particularly when bigger jubilee events take place, the UK Foreign Office (FCDO) has said.

In an update on 17 March, it advised Britons wanting to head to Italy, particularly the capital, to plan ahead.

The US Embassy in Italy has also updated its website to say: “Be prepared for crowds and extended wait times for transportation and entry into locations.

“You should book accommodations, transportation, and attraction tickets well in advance of arrival. Rome’s public transportation system will be under strain, and regular routes and schedules may change.”

There are events taking place nearly every month, with the most listed for May and June.

Events targeted towards specific groups of people, including families, workers, entrepreneurs and disabled people will take place, as well as concerts and special exhibitions in Rome’s museums.

The FCDO says people wanting to take part in the jubilee or organise a pilgrimage will need a Pilgrim’s card. This is free to download and can be obtained on the jubilee website or through the official app.

Despite Italy being busier than usual, Rome and other parts of the country are set to look their best for the jubilee, having been under construction nearly all of last year.

The capital pulled together billions of euros of state and European funds to overhaul tourist sites, transport hubs, parks, streets and even its rubbish bins.

Mayor Roberto Gualtieri told Reuters last year that the jubilee was an “unmissable opportunity to make structural changes… and transform Rome”.

A record 3,200 public construction works were scheduled to take place, including 322 projects that were deemed essential for the jubilee.

Tips from a tour guide

Livia Angelini, a travel specialist at tour operator Scott Dunn, said for people planning to visit the Italian capital this year, “timing is everything”.

She recommends avoiding peak travel season in June and July, and when planning to visit major tourist sites such as the Vatican and Colosseum, go earlier in the morning rather than in the afternoon and on weekdays rather than weekends.

Ms Angelini added that visiting “lesser-known neighbourhoods to see some of the more local areas” will also give tourists a more authentic Roman experience without huge crowds.

“Wander the quiet, charming streets of Garbatella, and lose yourself in Monti, home to eclectic boutiques and traditional Roman trattorias,” she said.

“For those travellers who seek to combine another area, I recommend heading to the coast or countryside after your time in Rome. Hop on a train to Naples and ferry across to the idyllic island of Ischia, explore the vineyards and hilltop towns of Tuscany, or embrace a slower pace of life in Puglia.”

World

Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine – as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Published

3 hours ago

July 14, 2025

admin

Trump announces weapons deal with NATO to help Ukraine - as he gives Putin 50-day ultimatum

Donald Trump has agreed to send “top of the line weapons” to NATO to support Ukraine – and threatened Russia with “severe” tariffs if it doesn’t agree to end the war.

Speaking with NATO secretary general Mark Rutte during a meeting at the White House, the US president said: “We’ve made a deal today where we are going to be sending them weapons, and they’re going to be paying for them.

“This is billions of dollars worth of military equipment which is going to be purchased from the United States,” he added, “going to NATO, and that’s going to be quickly distributed to the battlefield.”

Follow the latest here

Weapons being sent include surface-to-air Patriot missile systems and batteries, which Ukraine has asked for to defend itself from Russian air strikes.

Mr Trump also said he was “very unhappy” with Russia, and threatened “severe tariffs” of “about 100%” if there isn’t a deal to end the war in Ukraine within 50 days.

The White House added that the US would put “secondary sanctions” on countries that buy oil from Russia if an agreement was not reached.

It comes after weeks of frustration from Mr Trump against Vladimir Putin’s refusal to agree to an end to the conflict, with the Russian leader telling the US president he would “not back down” from Moscow’s goals in Ukraine at the start of the month.

During the briefing on Monday, Mr Trump said he had held calls with Mr Putin where he would think “that was a nice phone call,” but then “missiles are launched into Kyiv or some other city, and that happens three or four times”.

“I don’t want to say he’s an assassin, but he’s a tough guy,” he added.

Earlier this year, Mr Trump told Ukrainian leader Volodymyr Zelenskyy “you’re gambling with World War Three” in a fiery White House meeting, and suggested Ukraine started the war against Russia as he sought to negotiate an end to the conflict.

After Mr Trump’s briefing, Russian senator Konstantin Kosachev said on Telegram: “If this is all that Trump had in mind to say about Ukraine today, then all the steam has gone out.”

Meanwhile, Mr Zelenskyy met with US special envoy Keith Kellogg in Kyiv, where they “discussed the path to peace” by “strengthening Ukraine’s air defence, joint production, and procurement of defence weapons in collaboration with Europe”.

He thanked both the envoy for the visit and Mr Trump “for the important signals of support and the positive decisions for both our countries”.

World

At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

Published

15 hours ago

July 14, 2025

admin

At least 30 dead and 100 injured as armed groups clash in Syria, officials say

At least 30 people have been killed in the Syrian city of Sweida in clashes between local military groups and tribes, according to Syria’s interior ministry.

Officials say initial figures suggest around 100 people have also been injured in the city, where the Druze faith is one of the major religious groups.

The interior ministry said its forces will directly intervene to resolve the conflict, which the Reuters news agency said involved fighting between Druze gunmen and Bedouin Sunni tribes.

It marks the latest episode of sectarian violence in Syria, where fears among minority groups have increased since Islamist-led rebels toppled President Bashar al Assad in December, installing their own government and security forces.

The violence reportedly erupted after a wave of kidnappings, including the abduction of a Druze merchant on Friday on the highway linking Damascus to Sweida.

Last April, Sunni militia clashed with armed Druze residents of Jaramana, southeast of Damascus, and fighting later spread to another district near the capital.

But this is the first time the fighting has been reported inside the city of Sweida itself, the provincial capital of the mostly Druze province.

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights (SOHR) reports the fighting was centred in the Maqwas neighbourhood east of Sweida and villages on the western and northern outskirts of the city.

It adds that Syria’s Ministry of Defence has deployed military convoys to the area.

Western nations, including the US and UK, have been increasingly moving towards normalising relations with Syria.

Concerns among minority groups have intensified following the killing of hundreds of Alawites in March, in apparent retaliation for an earlier attack carried out by Assad loyalists.

That was the deadliest sectarian flare-up in years in Syria, where a 14-year civil war ended with Assad fleeing to Russia after his government was overthrown by rebel forces.

The city of Sweida is in southern Syria, about 24 miles (38km) north of the border with Jordan.

World

Meredith Kercher’s killer faces new trial over sexual assault allegations

Published

1 day ago

July 13, 2025

admin

Meredith Kercher's killer faces new trial over sexual assault allegations

The man convicted of the murder of British student Meredith Kercher has been charged with sexual assault against an ex-girlfriend.

Rudy Guede, 38, was the only person who was definitively convicted of the murder of 21-year-old Ms Kercher in Perugia, Italy, back in 2007.

He will be standing trial again in November after an ex-girlfriend filed a police report in the summer of 2023 accusing Guede of mistreatment, personal injury and sexual violence.

Guede, from the Ivory Coast, was released from prison for the murder of Leeds University student Ms Kercher in 2021, after having served about 13 years of a 16-year sentence.

Since last year – when this investigation was still ongoing – Guede has been under a “special surveillance” regime, Sky News understands, meaning he was banned from having any contact with the woman behind the sexual assault allegations, including via social media, and had to inform police any time he left his city of residence, Viterbo, as ruled by a Rome court.

Guede has been serving a restraining order and fitted with an electronic ankle tag.

The Kercher murder case, in the university city of Perugia, was the subject of international attention.

Ms Kercher, a 21-year-old British exchange student, was found murdered in the flat she shared with her American roommate, Amanda Knox.

The Briton’s throat had been cut and she had been stabbed 47 times.