By Joshua McElwee
VATICAN CITY, Jan 5 (Reuters) - About 33.5 million pilgrims came to Rome in 2025 for the Catholic Holy Year, Vatican and Italian officials said on Monday, marking a record number of yearly visitors and a boon for local tourist shops, museums and restaurants.
Holy years, or jubilees, typically occur every 25 years and are considered a time of peace, forgiveness and pardon. Pilgrims to Rome can enter special "Holy Doors" at four Rome basilicas, and can see the pope at special audiences throughout the year.
Officials said the 3.7 billion euros ($4.32 billion) of state and European funds spent on overhauling tourist sites for the occasion had been worth the investment.
"The whole world has come to Rome," Archbishop Rino Fisichella, the Vatican's lead jubilee official, told a news conference. "The Jubilee has not been a losing investment but a driving force that has boosted ... overall growth."
The year, during which Catholics can also earn a special indulgence, or remission of sins, ends on Tuesday.
Visitors over the past 12 months came from 185 countries, officials said, with pilgrims from Italy, the United States, Spain, Brazil and Poland leading the pack.
3,200 CONSTRUCTION PROJECTS ACROSS ROME
Much of Rome has resembled one large construction site for the past two years as officials undertook some 3,200 construction projects for the jubilee, creating a new underpass near the Vatican, updating the subway system, and restoring the famed Trevi fountain.
"The Jubilee has been a driving force for the transformation of the city," Rome mayor Roberto Gualtieri told reporters.
Although they typically occur only once every quarter-century, a special Jubilee year is expected in 2033 as part of celebrations to mark 2,000 years since the death of Jesus.
Leo proposed in November that the year might also include a joint pilgrimage by him and other Christian leaders to Jerusalem, to visit the site of Jesus' crucifixion.
FIRST JUBILEE WITH TWO POPES IN 300 YEARS
The last jubilee tourism record, made during the 2000 holy year, was 25 million.
The 2025 Jubilee was marked by an historical rarity not seen for 300 years. It was opened by one pope, Francis, and will be closed on Tuesday during a formal ceremony in St. Peter's Basilica by his successor, Leo.
Francis died in April after 12 years leading the 1.4-billion-member Church. The last jubilee held under two popes was in the year 1700, when Clement XI closed a holy year opened by Innocent XII.
Hundreds of Jubilee construction projects will continue in Rome beyond the end of the Holy Year.
The frenzy of work has infuriated some residents and left some visitors feeling short-changed because various tourist attractions were hidden behind scaffolding for many months.
Many renters in Rome were also left frustrated as the long-term rental market dried up as landlords sought to cash in on short-term rentals for pilgrims.
($1 = 0.8559 euros)
(Reporting by Joshua McElwee; Editing by Jan Harvey)
