Vatican expects 15,000 attendees for Jubilee of Justice  

As part of the Jubilee of Justice, an evening event will be held at the Chancellery Palace in Rome featuring a colloquium with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, pictured here delivering the 2024 commencement address at Franciscan University of Steubenville. / Credit: Franciscan University of Steubenville

ACI Prensa Staff, Sep 19, 2025 / 06:00 am (CNA).

The Jubilee of Justice, to be celebrated Saturday, Sept. 20, will bring together some 15,000 pilgrims from around the world, necessitating the relocation of the events to St. Peter’s Square.

This is the first time in the history of jubilees that a single event is dedicated to those who, performing various functions, are involved “in the world of secular, canonical, ecclesiastical justice, the Vatican City State, and the Roman Curia, as judges, prosecutors, magistrates, lawyers, legal practitioners, and administrative staff,” along with their families, according to the Holy See Press Office.

Registered participants will come from approximately 100 countries around the world, with the largest delegations coming from Italy, Spain, Portugal, Poland, France, the United States, Canada, Brazil, Argentina, Mexico, Colombia, Chile, Australia, Nigeria, Peru, and the Philippines.

Among the pilgrims will be representatives of important legal institutions, from the law schools of various pontifical universities or those affiliated with various Catholic institutions, and from professional associations and official entities.

The presence of representatives from Italy’s Ministry of Justice, the Constitutional Court, the Superior Council of the Judiciary, and the Supreme Court of Cassation has been confirmed, as have representatives from the Confederation of Catholic Jurists of France and the Supreme Courts of the United States, Brazil, Colombia, and Spain.

Likewise, there will be representatives from the Vatican Judiciary, the Court of Accounts, the presidency of the Italian Council of State, the International Union of Catholic Jurists, and the Union of Italian Catholic Jurists, among other entities.

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, will welcome pilgrims in St. Peter’s Square and present the “lectio divina” prepared by Bishop Juan Ignacio Arrieta, secretary of the Dicastery for Legislative Texts, on the theme “Iustitia Imago Dei: The Worker of Justice, Instrument of Hope.”

Pilgrims will have access to simultaneous translation through the Vatican Vox app, which is available for free download. 

At noon Rome time, Pope Leo XIV will hold the jubilee audience and address his remarks specifically to those working in the justice system. Following these events, pilgrims will proceed to the Holy Door of the papal basilica.

As part of the Jubilee of Justice, an evening event will be held at the Chancellery Palace in Rome featuring a colloquium with U.S. Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito, organized by the U.S. Embassy to the Holy See.

Rome’s Palazzo Altemps will host another event organized by the French Embassy to the Holy See and the Pious Establishments of France in Rome and Loreto, led  by French priest Patrick Valdrini, a professor at the Pontifical Lateran University.

This story was first published by ACI Prensa, CNA’s Spanish-language news partner. It has been translated and adapted by CNA.