In preparation for the forthcoming Jubilee proclaimed by Pope Francis that will take place from 24 December 2024 to 6 January 2026:
The Dicastery for Evangelization, as the Dicastery of the Holy See delegated by the Holy Father to organize Jubilee 2025, will act as the privileged interlocutor with the visa office of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (MAECI).
The procedure described below will only apply for pilgrims from countries that require a visa for tourist stays not exceeding 90 days.
Each Diocese within a country that is organizing a Diocesan pilgrimage to Rome for Jubilee 2025, will appoint a local Person in Charge for the pilgrimage. The said person will guarantee that the pilgrims will return to their country of origin at the end of their visit, and will take care of any communication/interaction with the local Italian diplomatic-consular office. This local Person in Charge will be appointed by the Diocesan Ordinary or his delegate.
The local Person in Charge will prepare the list of names of the participants in the planned pilgrimage for Jubilee 2025 and will indicate the following:
- Group Leader of the pilgrimage (who will be the same local Person in Charge if participating in the pilgrimage);
- complete personal data of all participants, including the type, number and expiration date of the travel document in the possession of each;
- nationality and home address of the participants;
- air, sea and land border crossing points of entry and exit;
- planned itinerary to and from Italy;
- arrival and departure dates;
- type of accommodation (also for the purpose of verifying financial means).
SUPPORT LETTER FOR VISA REQUEST
Given the high risk to minors in such circumstances, minors should not be included on the list without persons expressly authorised to accompany them.
The local Person in Charge will deliver the list well in advance (and not less than one month before the planned departure) to the Consulate and will send a copy, through the Apostolic Nuncio, to the Dicastery for Evangelization, who will then transmit the same list to the MAECI visa office.
The duration of the visa will be strictly limited to the requirements of the specific Jubilee event or Diocesan pilgrimage; this will be a Uniform Schengen Visa (VSU).
With regard to health insurance envisaged by the Schengen regulations, visa applicants will need to have a health insurance policy, valid for the whole Schengen area, with the minimum coverage provided for by the European regulations in force at the time of the visa application, for emergency hospitalization and repatriation expenses (currently, the minimum coverage required is €30,000 – thirty thousand Euros).
Pilgrims must come to the Consulate in order to have their biometrics taken for visa issuance purposes. Appointments will be provided in base of the work schedule.
At the end of the pilgrimage, the local Person in Charge appointed by the Diocesan Ordinary will inform the consular office which issued the entry visa that the pilgrims have indeed returned home, and will also communicate to the Dicastery for Evangelization the names of any who have not returned. These names will then be forwarded by the visa office to the Ministry of the Interior.
In the event that the local Person in Charge does not participate in the pilgrimage, the indicated Group Leader will communicate as soon as possible with the local Person in Charge in order to fulfil the obligations referred to in the previous paragraph.
In any case, it will be the responsibility of the Group Leader to ensure the utmost cooperation with the border control authorities, and with all available documentation explain any absences of pilgrims at the time of their return home due to force majeure (e.g. due to illness, hospitalization, repatriation that has already taken place).