Roundup: Catholic Jubilee kicks off safely amid heightened security

The Catholic Jubilee kicked off smoothly on Tuesday in the Vatican City amid heightened security measures following recent terror attacks around the world.

An estimated more than 50,000 pilgrims, according to Rai state television, gathered into St Peter's square in the heart of Rome to watch Pope Francis open the usually bricked-up "Holy Door" in the walls of Saint Peter's basilica, embracing a 700-year-old tradition.

The 78-year-old Argentinian Pope was followed through the door by his predecessor, Pope-emeritus Benedict XVI, 88, and by hundreds of members of religious orders and Italian political authorities including Italian President Sergio Mattarella and Prime Minister Matteo Renzi.

The day-long celebrations ended late on Tuesday with the pictures and videos by some of the world's top environmental photographers projected onto the facade of the renaissance basilica in an initiative related to the ongoing climate conference in Paris.

Concerns over potential terror attacks were running high and "the security issue will have to be constantly central, because Rome especially during the Jubilee can be a desirable target," Rome Prefect Franco Gabrielli told a press conference on Tuesday.

Although "there have not been specific threats," he stressed, the special security measures will last the whole Jubilee year, as "the potential of a terror attack is higher during the periods of less attention."

The Jubilee will last until Nov. 20, 2016, and is expected to attract 25 to 30 million pilgrims who would add to 16 million people visiting the Italian capital every year, according to local estimates.

A no-fly zone declared over Rome's air space, applying to drones as well, around 3,000 army and police officers deployed throughout the city and at least 300 additional hospital beds reserved for possible crisis situations were among the measures put in place.

A counterterrorism program was also launched to instruct taxi drivers in the art of recognizing suspicious terrorist activities in Rome. A statement from the labor unions in the industry said that many taxi drivers have signed up for the program to give their help to society.

Meanwhile, national hotels association Federalberghi said that bookings in and around the Italian capital this month were down 20 percent on 2014. "Both Italians and foreigners have changed destinations because of the terrorist alert," the association's head Bernabo Bocca was quoted as saying by La Stampa newspaper. With the Jubilee, Rome is considered a dangerous destination," he pointed out.

However, many pilgrims who had been in the square since before dawn in search of a prime spot to watch the ceremony on Tuesday said that they were not afraid of the terror menace. "Fear? It does not exist for us. We are believers," a newlywed couple told Corriere della Sera newspaper.

"I am here with my family, and if anything should happen I will be together with them. The checks were efficient, I feel safe," a young man told ANSA news agency. "We are not afraid. Terror acts are carried out in order to spread fright, so if we are afraid they will win," another pilgrim told La Repubblica newspaper.

The Community of the Arab World in Italy (Co-mai) in a statement released on Tuesday expressed their best wishes to Pope Francis and all Christians for the Jubilee.

"We wish the Holy Year to pass in a spirit of peace for Christians, Muslims, Jews and laymen," the statement said, calling on a "collaborative coexistence among different cultures and religions, based on mutual respect and acceptance of differences." Enditem