More than 9.1 million people have made a pilgrimage to the Eternal City thus far in the Holy Year of Mercy.
Vatican Radio is reporting on the announcement which was made yesterday by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization.
“According to the data available today, the number of pilgrims who have visited Rome for the various Jubilee initiatives and who have visited the four basilicas, as well as the Holy Door of the Shrine of Divine Love, is 9,100,935,” the Archbishop said.
“It is a significant number for the first six months of the Jubilee, which confirms the great desire of many faithful from all over the world to come to Rome to meet Pope Francis, even though there are many Doors of Mercy around the globe.”
Pilgrims who wish to visit Rome during this Holy Year will find the city well prepared to greet them.
According to the U.S. Embassy of the Holy See, pilgrims who wish to visit one of the Holy Doors must make a reservation online first. Once they arrive in Rome, walking routes have been set up for pilgrims and visitors wishing to make the pilgrimage to the papal basilicas leading up to St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Holy See has also launched a Pilgrim Information Center which is open daily from 7:30am to 6:30pm on Via della Conciliazione, 7. This is where visitors can obtain information on the Jubilee schedule, register for the pilgrimage to a Holy Door, collect tickets for the various events for which a free access ticket is required, and collect the “testimonium” official certificate of participation in the Jubilee.
Only the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization, through the Pilgrim Information Center, has the authority to certify a pilgrim’s presence at the Jubilee.
For those who cannot venture to Rome for the Holy Year, Pope Francis designed this extraordinary time of mercy to be lived around the world and not exclusively in Rome. This is why he has allowed the establishment of Holy Doors at diocesan Cathedrals and shrines of significance around the world. Missionaries of mercy are also being established as well as many scheduled events which can be accessed through diocesan offices.
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