Pope Francis' Year of Jubilee met with lack of pilgrims

'There seems to be the same number of people about as this time last year.'

With the Jubilee Year of Mercy beginning today, Italy was disappointed to see no increase in pilgrims to the Vatican.

LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Italian authorities expected St. Peter's Square to be overcrowded with pilgrims from around the word, but were instead met with an average-size crowd.

Yahoo! News reported one street trader in the Via della Conciliazione, who did not offer his name, said, "There seems to be the same number of people about as this time last year.

 Street venders, hotels and restaurants in the area expected to be bustling with activity, but the unnamed trader explained, "...it is clear the crowds we were told to expect have not materialised."

The Italian media believe official Vatican figures - which indicate papal audience attendance has decreased thirty percent compared to the same time last year - have declined as a result of the Paris terror attacks.

The last Jubilee year was 2000, in which 150 pilgrims stepped through the doors of St. Peter's each minute, with a total of 32 million pilgrims.

Rome's hotel and restaurant federation revealed hotel occupancy rates fell twenty percent since the same time in the previous year.

For Pope Francis' Year of Jubilee, the pontiff has done what no other pope has done before - he has asked cathedrals around the world to open holy doors so more people can step through them without leaving their home countries.

The opening of so many doors has also contributed to Rome's low number of pilgrims this year.
Massimiliano, the Vatican official in charge of the welcome center on the Via della Conciliazione, explained, "We don't have a figure for the number of pilgrims per day but there has been a steady flow."

In Ancora religious bookshop, Father Giuliano was not concerned about his lack of customers.

"A Holy Year is judged over a whole year," he replied. "Those who think it offers a wonderful opportunity to come to Rome still have plenty of time. I'm not worried at all," adding, "The pilgrims will come at Easter, as usual."

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