Show-Me State Times

A group of students from St. Louis University (SLU) traveled to Rome in late July 2025 to participate in the Catholic Church’s Jubilee Year, a tradition held every 25 years that emphasizes pilgrimage and spiritual renewal. The 2025 event, themed "Pilgrims of Hope," commemorates the 2,025-year anniversary of the Incarnation and focuses on unity and support for vulnerable communities.

The trip was organized quickly at the end of SLU’s spring semester. According to Campus Minister Michael Schreiner, students interested in attending answered essay questions and met with Campus Ministry before regrouping at the airport for departure. “We had a really good group apply – everyone wanted to go for the right reasons and the group got on really well,” Schreiner said.

While in Rome, SLU students toured Vatican sites, met peers from other Jesuit institutions, and attended a general audience with Fr. Arturo Sosa, S.J., superior general of the Society of Jesus. A key moment was an evening vigil and Mass led by Pope Leo XIV at Tor Vergata field outside Rome.

“To see a million people there, camping out in a field to go to Mass with the Pope, really hit me,” said Luke Salmo, a student at SLU’s Richard A. Chaifetz School of Business. He noted that while managing large crowds was challenging, there were opportunities for personal connection: “I ran into a friend of mine from the University of Dayton at Mass... We had talked about meeting up and then we ended up just walking right by each other amid all those people.”

Pope Leo XIV addressed young attendees about friendship and staying connected despite social media’s isolating effects. “I couldn't get over hearing the Pope speak in perfect English, just as this guy from Chicago,” Salmo said. “He knew his audience.”

Christopher Ross, S.J., reflected on attending an opening Mass in St. Peter's Square alongside students worldwide: “We are bearers of hope for a world in need. It was a profound experience on the universality of the Church to see flags from all over and to hear so many different languages being spoken,” he said. “When everyone said Amen together, it felt like it would echo around the world.”

During their week-long visit, SLU students also visited significant religious sites including all four Holy Doors—St. Paul Outside the Walls, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Peter—which are only opened during Jubilee years. Pope Francis opened St. Peter’s Holy Door on Christmas Eve 2024; it will close on Epiphany 2025 to mark the end of this holy year.

Sophomore Elsie King expressed gratitude for participating in such a pilgrimage with her peers.