Pope Francis asks Rome’s Catholics to help combat ‘housing emergency’ during 2025 jubilee

Pope Francis waves to pilgrims gathered in St. Peter’s Square for his Angelus address on Nov. 10, 2024. / Credit: Vatican Media

Vatican City, Nov 15, 2024 / 12:45 pm (CNA).

As Rome’s temperatures drop and the jubilee year approaches, Pope Francis has asked the city’s priests and religious to open any vacant facilities on their property to the homeless and those at risk of homelessness.

Noting the housing issues that could be caused by the large influx of pilgrims expected for the jubilee in 2025, the pope asked for “a courageous gesture of love” in a letter published Nov. 15.

“I want all diocesan realities that own real estate to offer their contribution to stem the housing emergency,” he said, “with signs of charity and solidarity to generate hope in the thousands of people in the city of Rome who are in a condition of housing precariousness.”

The pontiff asked all Church realities, including movements, religious orders, and diocesan churches, to offer any vacant apartments or guesthouses to those who may need them.

He recalled the jubilee year’s theme of hope, which he said “comes from love and from feeling loved,” and said the Church’s social teaching makes clear everyone’s right to land, a home, and work.

“In view of the jubilee, I have asked my diocese to give a tangible sign of attention to housing issues so that, alongside the welcome given to all the pilgrims who will be coming, forms of protection will be activated for those who do not have a home or who are in danger of losing it,” Francis said.

The jubilee, or holy year, which will formally open on Dec. 24, has impacted the ever-growing number of tourist and short-term rentals in Rome, leading to a housing shortage for Rome’s residents, according to experts.

According to some estimates, since 2018, the number of short-term apartment rentals, such as Airbnb, has grown from 17,000 to 30,000.

“Rome’s real estate market is going through a period of increasing pressure due to the scarcity of residential housing and the increase in tourist rentals,” Rome real estate expert Silvia Dri told the financial journal Milano Finanza in October.

“This situation creates difficulties for families and students, who are forced to look for solutions increasingly far from the center or to share living spaces,” she added. 

In October, Pope Francis reconfigured the prefectures of the Diocese of Rome due to the exodus of residents from the historic center.

The high influx of tourists has also had an impact on the pastoral needs of the area, which now has only 35 Catholic parishes, many with few parishioners, he wrote.