VATICAN CITY (OSV News) – After a jubilee year not seen for centuries – with one pope opening the Holy Door and another closing it – Pope Leo XIV ended the Jubilee Year of Hope at St. Peter’s Basilica Jan. 6 telling the world to love and seek peace, protect what is holy, and flee from modern efficiency.

The Vatican on Monday gave a final accounting of its 2025 Holy Year, saying more than 33 million pilgrims had participated and that the only real dispute with the city of Rome concerned the style of fountains built for the event's main public works project.

Although traditionally a jubilee only happens every 25 years, the Holy Door is slated to reopen for a special 2033 Jubilee when the Church will celebrate the Holy Year of the Redemption. To mark the occasion, Pope Leo has called on people to travel to the Holy Land, where Jesus once lived and died.

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,

An estimated 33 million visitors and pilgrims came to the Vatican to celebrate the Jubilee Year, exceeding early forecasts.

Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica to mark the start of the Catholic Jubilee Year at the Vatican on Dec. 24, 2024.