Rome

Last weekend, Rome hosted nearly a million young pilgrims to celebrate the Papal Jubilee of Youth. Part Woodstock festival, part giant outdoor mass and all-night vigil, crowds of students from all over Italy and beyond gathered to listen to Christian rock music, sing hymns and receive the blessing of the new Pope. Leo XIV, arriving in a white papal helicopter, was feted like a rock star. The event was orderly, joyous and a sign of a society at peace with itself and proud of its heritage.

The way Italians carry on, you’d think the country was booming. The Lombardy and Veneto regions are gearing up to host the 2026 Winter Olympics. Central Rome has been transformed for the four-times-a-century papal jubilee year, with five city squares refurbished and more than 500 churches and palace

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