Hundreds of thousands of young Catholics poured into a vast field on Rome’s outskirts Saturday for the weekend highlight of the Vatican’s 2025 Holy Year: an evening vigil, outdoor slumber party and morning Mass celebrated by Pope Leo XIV that marks his first big encounter with the next generation of Catholics.

The pope was greeted by joyous crowds on the 237-acre grounds of the University of Rome Tor Vergata, 10 miles east of Rome, where teenagers and young adults