Circus Maximus turned into huge confession centre for Jubilee of Young People

Two hundred confessionals were stationed across Rome’s Circus Maximus yesterday. The transformation of the ancient Roman site into an area for penance was part of the 2025 Jubilee of Young People, taking place in Rome from 28 July to 3 August.

Confessions took place non-stop from 10 am to 6 pm, with an estimated 25,000 people receiving the sacrament of reconciliation, served by nearly 1,000 priests. Languages available included Spanish, Swahili, English, French, Portuguese, Polish, Vietnamese, German, Hungarian, Slovak, Korean, and Chinese.

Volunteers from the Youcat Foundation distributed 10,000 copies of the Youcat book on confession. The special edition, published for the Jubilee of Youth, was available in four languages: Italian, English, French, and German.

The Circus Maximus dates back to the 6th century BC and was the Empire’s largest chariot-racing arena and a central venue for public entertainment. While not believed to have been a principal site of Christian martyrdom, emperors hostile to Christianity staged lavish games there while persecuting the faithful elsewhere.

Over time, as Christianity became the state religion under Constantine in the 4th century, the circus’s pagan festivals declined. By the 6th century, the last recorded races were held under the Ostrogothic king Totila. The structure was then quarried for stone, occupied by workshops and housing, and later became an open field.

Today, it is owned by the Italian State and managed by Rome’s Superintendency of Cultural Heritage, which oversees its preservation and use as both an archaeological site and public park.

The 2025 Jubilee of Young People is part of the Church’s wider Holy Year celebrations. The youth gathering, echoing the style of World Youth Day, brings hundreds of thousands of young Catholics to the city for cultural activities, a welcome Mass in St Peter’s Square, and a prayer vigil with Pope Leo XIV at Tor Vergata on 2 August, followed by a closing papal Mass the next morning. Around 500,000 young pilgrims are expected to attend.

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