Attendance at papal audiences and liturgical celebrations rose sharply in 2025, reaching 3.17 million participants, according to figures published by the Prefecture of the Papal Household, marking an 88 per cent increase on the previous year after more than a decade of steady decline.
The data, covering general audiences, liturgical celebrations, and Angelus prayers, show a year divided between the final months of Pope Francis’s pontificate and the first eight months of Pope Leo XIV. Taken together, they point to a clear numerical recovery, though one that follows a long period of contraction in public participation at Vatican events.
