More than 600 vibrant young adults from across Ireland will travel to Rome from 28 July to 3 August 2025, to take part in the Jubilee of Youth, a major international celebration held as part of the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year 2025.  Taking place under the theme Pilgrims of Hope, the week-long event is expected to bring together over 100,000 young Catholics from around the world for a transformative experience of prayer, pilgrimage, catechesis, and Eucharistic celebrations.

Accompanying the Irish pilgrims will be several bishops, including Bishop Fintan Gavin, Bishop of Cork and Ross, and Chair of the Council for Evangelisation, Catechetics and Pastoral Renewal of the Irish Catholic Bishops’ Conference.  Young adult groups from dioceses and movements across the country have spent recent months preparing for this significant spiritual journey through formation sessions, reflection, and community fundraising efforts.

Speaking ahead of the pilgrimage, Bishop Gavin said, “This Jubilee is a powerful reminder that young people are not just the future of the Church – they are its present.  To walk together as ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ in the heart of Rome, alongside young Catholics from every continent, is a deeply spiritual and life-affirming experience.  I look forward to journeying with the young people of Cork and Ross, and those from across Ireland, as we respond to the late Pope Francis’ call to renewal and hope.”

During their time in Rome, Irish pilgrims will participate in a dedicated programme organised by the Irish Bishops’ Conference in collaboration with the Pontifical Irish College.  Each morning, catechesis and the celebration of the Eucharist will take place at Instituto Santa Maria, with contributions from internationally renowned speakers including Bishop Alan McGuckian SJ of Down and Connor, Sister Mary Grace SV, and Bishop Robert Barron, founder of Word on Fire and Bishop of the Diocese of Winona-Rochester in the United States.

On Thursday, 31 July, all Irish pilgrims will gather at the historic Pontifical Irish College for a national celebration led by Bishop Gavin, with music provided by acclaimed Christian artist Sarah Kroger.  The following day, on Friday, 1 August, pilgrims will take part in a deeply moving Way of the Cross through the streets of Rome, beginning at the Irish College and concluding with fellow international pilgrims at the Basilica of Santa Croce, which houses relics of the True Cross.

Back in Ireland, the Jubilee Year is also being marked at the country’s three national pilgrimage sites—Knock Shrine, Croagh Patrick, and Saint Patrick’s Purgatory on Lough Derg—inviting Catholics to join in this global call to renewal and hope both at home and abroad.

To follow the pilgrimage, visit Bishops’ Instagram, Facebook and X accounts.

Click here to view the full programme.