Pointing out the opportunity of such a proposal was the Holy Father Pope Francis himself in his address to participants in the plenary of the Pontifical Commission for Sacred Archaeology, on 17 May 2024, when he said:
"In this great event, the Christian catacombs will naturally be one of the most significant destinations. Indeed, the theme of the Jubilee, “Pilgrims of hope”, finds a unique and evocative expression precisely in the catacomb routes. There we find the many signs of the early Christian pilgrimage (...) We then discover, in these routes, the most ancient Christian symbols and depictions, bearing witness to Christian hope. In the catacombs, everything speaks of hope, everything: it speaks of life beyond death, liberation from danger and from death itself through the work of God, who in Christ, the Good Shepherd, calls us to participate in the bliss of Paradise, evoked with figures of lush plants, flowers, verdant meadows, peacocks and doves, grazing sheep... Everything speaks of hope and life!
In themselves, the catacombs, as “cemeteries”, or “dormitories”, bear witness to the wait, the hope of the Christian, who believes in the resurrection of Christ and in the resurrection of the flesh.
The pilgrimage in the catacombs is therefore configured as an itinerary in which to experience the meaning of Christian expectation and hope; it reminds us that we are all pilgrims, on our way to the goal of the encounter with God, who in the Risen Christ calls us to share his bliss and peace. The first Christian generations communicate and express this faith through the augural words and prayers that continually return in the epitaphs carved on the tombs of their loved ones: “Vivas in pace - Vivas in Deo, Vivas in Christo”!
Christian hope is witnessed above all by the Martyrs, whose memorials are dotted along the catacomb paths. For this reason, I warmly congratulate you on your proposal to highlight, in view of the Jubilee, the tombs of the martyrs, proposing them to pilgrims and significant stops along their itineraries. To pause before them brings us face to face with the courageous example of these Christians, always topical, and invites us to pray for the many brothers and sisters who suffer persecution for their faith in Christ today.
Because the message of the catacombs speaks to all, to pilgrims and also to distant visitors; it speaks from an experience of faith.”
For more information and to accept the invitations of the Holy Father and the Salesian community of San Callisto, visit: https://www.catacombesancallisto.it/it/index.php
