A generous, hospitable city

On Monday morning, 10 June, Pope Francis visited Rome’s Capitoline Hill at the invitation of the Mayor of Rome, Roberto Gualtieri, ahead of the 2025 Jubilee Year. After a private meeting with the Mayor, and greetings from Svetlana Celli, President of the Capitoline Assembly, the Holy Father delivered an address to Capitoline officials in which he expressed his gratitude for the Municipality of Rome’s commitment to preparing the city to welcome Jubilee pilgrims. Rome, he noted, is a city with a universal spirit “at the service of charity, at the service of welcome and hospitality….May Rome continue to show its face, a welcoming, hospitable, generous, noble face”, the Pope said. Following his discourse, the Mayor and the Holy Father exchanged gifts. The Mayor gave the Pope a silver medal commemorating the visit and a document of the institution of some initiatives of a social nature. The Holy Father donated a mosaic depicting the Arch of Titus to the Municipality, while he gave the Mayor a triptych of medals. Pope Francis then greeted the assessors and councillors individually and gave each of them medals and the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee.