More than half a million young people from 146 countries are set to arrive July 28 for the start of the weeklong Jubilee of Youth, which will include a special Jubilee dedicated to Digital Missionaries and Catholic Influencers.

While 68 per cent of attendees will be from Europe, young people will be coming from four other continents and from war zones and areas of serious conflict, said Archbishop Rino Fisichella, a pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization.

"Essentially, this moment of celebration and joy also aims to embrace all young people around the world, indicating that it will be a genuine moment of peace and peace-building in the world," he said.

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"I am thinking in particular of the Christian young people of Ukraine, the Middle East, Syria, Gaza and Iran," said Lamberto Giannini, Rome's prefect, who coordinates maintaining law and order in the city.

The seven-day event during the Jubilee of hope will be "in communion with all of them, because it is for them above all that hope is offered today, and not just any hope, but as we have been taught, the hope that does not disappoint," he said.

The high points will be walking through the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica, and the Aug. 2 evening prayer vigil and Aug. 3 Mass with Pope Leo XIV in Rome's Tor Vergata residential neighbourhood, which lies about 13 km southeast of the city centre.

The week will also feature about 70 cultural, artistic and spiritual events — organized by multiple bishops' conferences and Catholic groups and associations — throughout the city, including the exposition of the relics of Blesseds Pier Giorgio Frassati and Carlo Acutis for veneration. There will be an opportunity Aug. 1 for participants to receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation at Rome's Circus Maximus, where more than 1,000 priests will take turns throughout the day offering confession in multiple languages, Fisichella said.

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The main events at Tor Vergata will begin on stage after 2 p.m. Aug. 2 with presentations, then entertainment featuring the Spanish dancer Sergio Bernal Alonso and numerous bands such as Matt Maher, Il Volo and The Sun.

Pope Leo will arrive by helicopter for the prayer vigil at 8:30 p.m. and three young people — from the United States, Mexico and Italy — will ask the Pope questions in their respective languages.

After camping out on the grounds of the venue, young people will celebrate Mass the next morning with the Pope, who "always gives a mandate, that is, he sends the young people on a mission," Fisichella said.

The city has refurbished the giant open-air venue for the vigil and Mass, including three recommended routes participants will walk to get there. While bus, train and subway services will all be beefed up, people will have to walk the last five km on foot, he said.

With past experience as their guide, scores of embassies and consulates in Rome have been contacted to prepare them to help expedite services for their citizens, said Fabio Ciciliano, head of the country's civil protection department. Thousands of passports and ID cards were lost during World Youth Day in Rome in 2000.

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There will be 2,660 stations for drinking water, more than 2,700 chemical toilets and many services for the disabled, including a special "quiet" area at the venue.

Four large mist cannons, which are normally used to control dust during demolitions and can shoot water as far as 100 yards, will be positioned throughout the venue to cool people. Dozens of mobile units with smaller cannons will also make the rounds, spraying mist to offer relief in the expected heat.