With rain-slicked coats and rain-soaked feet, last-minute visitors did not let Rome’s infamous winter deluges and damp stop them from their goal: to pray and pass through to the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica.

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.

As the new year begins and the Jubilee Year comes to a close, Pope Leo XIV will hit the ground running with an extraordinary consistory taking place in Rome this week. 

The powerful and violent cannot control, suppress or commodify God’s grace, friendship and will to usher in a new dawn, Pope Leo XIV said.

An estimated 33 million visitors and pilgrims came to the Vatican to celebrate the Jubilee Year, exceeding early forecasts, officials said at a news conference at the Vatican Jan. 5.

Pope Leo XIV expressed “deep concern” following the capture of Venezuelan President Nicolás Maduro and his wife, Cilia Flores, by the United States in a large-scale attack.

“Be open to what the Lord has in store for you,” Pope Leo XIV said in a video address to thousands of youth and young adults attending the SEEK 2026 conference.

The world is not saved by threatening violence or by judging, oppressing or getting rid of others, Pope Leo XIV said.

The tenacious hope of people of faith, believing in a better tomorrow, keeps God’s plan of salvation alive in the world, Pope Leo XIV said.

Close to 3 million pilgrims and visitors attended audiences, liturgies or meetings at the Vatican with Pope Leo XIV from the time of his election in May through December, according to the Prefecture of the Papal Household.