On August 1, the youth delegation from the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia (AVOSA), participating in the Jubilee of Youth, crossed the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Bishop Paolo Martinelli, the Apostolic Vicar, led the group of around 90 young people from the United Arab Emirates and Oman.

The group departed from Castel Sant’Angelo and walked the Jubilee Path—about one kilometer—to St. Peter’s Basilica, praying the rosary and carrying the Jubilee Cross along the way.

The young pilgrims wore blue T-shirts bearing the AVOSA logo and carried the flag of the Vicariate, along with those of the UAE and Oman.

“Each of us carries in our hearts dreams, hopes, and desires to offer to the Lord, who will then work in our lives in ways we cannot yet imagine,” said Cliffton, the Oman coordinator, in an interview with TV2000, Italy’s Catholic Television Network.

“It’s truly a beautiful experience to meet peers from all over the world who share your faith. We’ve met and spoken with many of them about belief, faith, and God, and how this Jubilee of Hope is opening hearts and minds, helping us grow,” said Cathay, YAM coordinator from Sharjah (UAE) and assistant coordinator for the 2025 pilgrimage.

“The participation of around 90 young people from the Apostolic Vicariate of Southern Arabia in the Youth Jubilee in Rome is a profoundly meaningful gift for our entire vicariate,” Bishop Paolo highlighted. “I was deeply moved by the fact that, before arriving in Rome, they chose to make a pilgrimage to several shrines and churches across Italy, places marked by the witness of the saints.”

The group visited the sites of St. John Bosco in Turin, St. Anthony in Padua, St. Mark in Venice, St. Charles Borromeo in Milan, St. Francis and St. Clare in Assisi, St. Rita of Cascia, and Padre Pio of Pietrelcina.

They also traveled to Florence, where they met Fr. Eugenio Mattioli, the last missionary from the Tuscan Capuchin friars to serve in the Gulf region, now 93 years old.

“I had the opportunity to speak with him after their visit, and he expressed great joy at meeting them and assured them of his prayers for all the faithful in our vicariate,” Bishop Paolo added.

The bishop joined the group on Friday, August 1st. Together, they walked in procession along the Via della Conciliazione and passed through the Holy Door. They prayed at the tomb of the Apostle Peter and later celebrated Mass in a nearby church.

“It was a profound moment of prayer and thanksgiving for all the beauty we have experienced during these days,” the bishop said. “I found our young people deeply eager to encounter Christ and to follow Him along the path of the Gospel. They are truly ‘pilgrims of hope.’”

“I was struck by the intensity with which our young people prayed and journeyed together. They walked together as friends, as brothers and sisters—so different from one another, yet deeply united by the same faith, the same hope, and the same love for Christ.”

After the vigil prayer and Mass with the Pope, the young people from AVOSA will return to their homes.

“I am confident they will bring back to our communities the beauty they have lived and witnessed during these days,” the bishop conclude.