Michael Kelly
“Based on the numbers, the Year of Mercy is proving to be extremely dissatisfying from Rome’s point of view”, writes Editor Michael Kelly
It would be both unfair and untrue to call the jubilee year of mercy a flop, but it’s not going to be anything like the Great Jubilee of 2000. I was in Rome last week and opinions vary from extreme disappointment to optimistic talk that Pope Francis wants to take the focus off Rome and spread the jubilee around.
Based on the numbers, the Year of Mercy is proving to be extremely dissatisfying from Rome’s point of view. When Pope Francis announced the jubilee last year, officials confidently predicted that some 33 million pilgrims would arrive in the eternal city. This, they said, would surpass the 25 million people who made Rome their destination during 2000.
So far, just three million people have passed through the jubilee door in St Peter’s Basilica. A special ‘pilgrim path’ constructed to lead visitors to the basilica is considerably underutilised. I asked one of the volunteers who was on hand to greet pilgrims about numbers, “oh, not too many,” was his reply. During a short period, I saw just sporadic trickles.
So, has the Year of Mercy failed to catch the imagination in the way the turn-of-the-millennium event did? Perhaps, but the reasons why people are not coming to Rome are probably more complicated.
For starters, the 33 million figure was probably an extreme over-estimation which is strange, given that the Vatican has tended to underestimate things in the past.
Pope Francis announced the jubilee just nine months before it was due to commence. In contrast, St John Paul II announced the great jubilee back in 1994, six years before it was due to commence. Church officials began preparations almost immediately, and preparations culminated with an intensive three-year period from 1997.
In 2000, great emphasis was put on Rome as the traditional centre of jubilee. This year, however, there have been mixed messages with some insisting that the Pope wants everyone to stay in their parishes and celebrate the jubilee there (many Irish parishes have enthusiastically embraced this). At the same time, Francis is presiding over a number of set-piece events in Rome aimed at attracting visitors.
Sadly, however, when we look back the jubilee of mercy may well be suffering as a result of the overall climate of fear created by Islamist terrorist atrocities in Europe. Rome is awash with heavily-armed troops. Members of the Esercito Italiano are posted near every major site (which in Rome, means virtually every corner!). Even the jubilee information office beside the Vatican has soldiers outside (see picture).
Hotels in Rome reported an immediate wave of Easter cancellations following the ISIS-claimed terror attacks in Brussels on March 22, which claimed the lives of 32 victims and three suicide bombers.
The sad reality is that the spectre of violent Islam is having a profound effect on how we live our lives and the choices we make. Which is sad indeed, since it means that terrorism wins.
My advice? Be careful, but don’t miss the opportunity to see Rome in all its beauty this jubilee year.w
When the Pope spills the beans
One of the men responsible for planning the jubilee was Rome’s erstwhile mayor Ignazio Marino. Mr Marino resigned last year after an expenses scandal. The final straw was when he travelled to the US to participate in the Pope’s trip there.
Mr Marino gave the impression that it was at the Pontiff’s invite. When asked by a journalist, however, Francis was in no doubt. “I did not invite Mayor Marino. Is that clear?” he said, dramatically pausing between each word to emphasise his point and not even trying to hide his exasperation.
The mayor’s goose was cooked and he resigned just a few days later.
Political maturity I’ve long thought that there is wisdom in the Italian tradition of seeing politics as a business requiring maturity. To qualify as a candidate, for example, anyone wanting to be President must be at least 50. Senate candidates must be at least 40 and those seeking election to the chamber of deputies must be at least 25.
