More than 3,500 young Catholics from the United States will gather in Rome on July 30 for a landmark event as part of the global Jubilee of Youth—a weeklong celebration expected to draw over 100,000 young people to the Eternal City.
The U.S. National Pilgrim Gathering, organized by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), will take place at the historic Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. According to the USCCB, the evening will feature Eucharistic adoration, catechesis, and a special procession with relics of 12 saints and blesseds “significant to the American Church and Catholic youth.”
Bishop Robert Barron of Winona-Rochester, Minnesota—renowned for his Word on Fire media ministry—will deliver the keynote address. As chairman of the USCCB’s Committee on Laity, Marriage, Family Life, and Youth, Bishop Barron is expected to speak “on what it means to be a missionary witness in today’s world.”
The gathering offers pilgrims the rare opportunity to pass through the basilica’s Holy Door, opened for the Church’s Jubilee Year, and to pray before the tomb of St. Paul. Bishop Edward Burns of Dallas, the committee’s chairman-elect, will lead a Eucharistic Holy Hour during the three-hour event, which begins at 7 p.m. Rome time (1 p.m. ET). EWTN will broadcast the event, and a livestream will be available on the USCCB’s YouTube channel. U.S. dioceses have encouraged parishes to tune in with their youth groups.
The event follows closely on the heels of the Jubilee of Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers, held July 28–29, where Jesuit Fathers David McCallum and Antonio Spadaro served as keynote speakers. Cardinal Luis Antonio Tagle offered Mass for young digital missionaries at St. Peter’s Basilica on July 29.
The broader Jubilee of Youth, running from July 28 to August 3, includes spiritual and cultural highlights such as a penitential day at Circus Maximus (August 1), a massive youth prayer vigil led by Pope Leo XIV at Tor Vergata (August 2), and a closing Mass celebrated by the Holy Father on August 3.
Pilgrims will also embark on walking pilgrimages to the tombs of young saints including St. Agnes, St. Cecilia, and St. Philip Neri. According to event organizers, the EWTN Travel App will assist participants with digital maps and information. The city will also host relics of modern holy figures like Blessed Carlo Acutis, Blessed Ivan Merz, and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati.
Other national pilgrim gatherings will take place throughout the week. On July 31, over 1,000 South Korean pilgrims will celebrate Mass at the Basilica of San Crisogono in Trastevere, led by Cardinal Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, with Auxiliary Bishop Paul Kyung-sang Lee preaching the homily. The Archdiocese of Seoul is set to host the next World Youth Day in 2027.
The Canadian delegation will hold its national gathering at the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle on July 29.
As Bishop Barron prepares to speak to young American Catholics on a global stage, his message of missionary witness reflects the Church’s ongoing call to evangelize “in today’s world,” especially among the youth navigating faith in a digital age.
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