‘Epiphany moment’: Catholics recall World Youth Day vigil in Tor Vergata with John Paul II

 

Washington, D.C. Newsroom, Aug 1, 2025 / 08:00 am (CNA).

Twenty-five years ago at the University of Rome Tor Vergata, youth gathered from around the globe for an all-night vigil during the 15th World Youth Day. Pilgrims stayed overnight on the open field with sleeping bags, with St. John Paul II presiding over the vigil.

Located on the outskirts of Rome, the university served as the historic site for the overnight vigil, chosen for its capacity to hold the massive influx of youth who descended upon Rome in August 2000.

Now, a quarter-century later, young Catholics from around the globe will descend upon Tor Vergata once again for an all-night vigil during the Jubilee of Youth, echoing the powerful spiritual encounter that took place on the same grounds during World Youth Day in 2000.

On the evening of Aug. 2, from 8:30 to 9:30 p.m., Pope Leo XIV will lead a vigil of prayer and reflection, inviting youth to open their hearts under the Roman sky.

‘What a blessing it was’

“John Paul II encourag[ed] all youth to not be afraid as we were called to be an active part of the Church,” Deacon Luke Oestman told CNA.

The 2000 vigil marked the turn of the millennium and the climax of the Great Jubilee declared by Pope John Paul II.

For many who attended the vigil, it became a defining moment in their faith journey.

“It was at that all-night vigil that I first heard the oft-quoted ‘It is Jesus that you seek,’” Father Chas Canoy, who attended as a 27-year-old, told CNA.

“That was an epiphany moment … especially in the context of the Great Jubilee and the new millennium, which highlighted that all of history was ‘His story’ with the humanity he loved and desired to redeem,” he said.

Lisa Wheeler, founder of Carmel Communications, recalled the 2000 World Youth Day in Rome as a spiritual turning point.

“Being at the World Youth Day Mass in Rome in 2000 during the Great Jubilee was a defining moment in my return to the Catholic faith,” Wheeler said. “It was my second World Youth Day since my reversion in 1996, and once again, Pope John Paul II spoke with a clarity and love that pierced my heart.”

CNA recently asked social media users for their memories of the event ahead of the vigil with Leo.

“I joined the World Youth Day in 2000 in Rome. It was also a jubilee year and [I was] so blessed to be able to hear and see Pope John Paul II and then to enter the jubilee door in St. Peter’s Basilica,” MylaDalle Buena-Marcial said.

The 2000 event was the first of four youth days Buena-Marcial attended, she said.

One attendee of the 2000 celebration, Trina Trusty, wrote on Instagram that she was overheated from the hike to the vigil site, but it was worthwhile.

“I cried when I first laid eyes on JPII. What a blessing it was to be a part of the prayer vigil and Mass with him and 2 million other people!” she wrote.

Elizabeth Canlas wrote that she attended World Youth Day in 2000 and is now watching her two daughters experience the same event this year.

Tricia Tembreull, meanwhile, said she attended the 2000 WYD and will again.

“[I] can’t wait to do it again with [Pope Leo XIV] next Saturday and Sunday for the jubilee of young people,” she said.