According to 2024 estimates, the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican City receives on average around ** million visitors per year. This made it the most visited religious site in Italy among the selected destinations as of that year. The Sanctuary of Saint Pio of Pietrelcina in the town of San Giovanni Rotondo in Apulia followed in the ranking, with an estimated *** million annual visitors.

Saudi Arabia Visitor Arrivals: Inbound: Overnight: Religious: Europe: Southern: Italy data was reported at 1.271 Person th in 2012. This stayed constant from the previous number of 1.271 Person th for 2011. Saudi Arabia Visitor Arrivals: Inbound: Overnight: Religious: Europe: Southern: Italy data is updated yearly, averaging 1.271 Person th from Dec 2007 (Median) to 2012, with 6 observations. The data reached an all-time high of 6.235 Person th in 2007 and a record low of 0.000 Person th in 2008. Saudi Arabia Visitor Arrivals: Inbound: Overnight: Religious: Europe: Southern: Italy data remains active status in CEIC and is reported by Saudi Commission for Tourism and National Heritage. The data is categorized under Global Database’s Saudi Arabia – Table SA.Q005: Visitor Arrivals: Inbound: Overnight: by Purpose and Country of Residence.

During a 2022 survey conducted in the United States, it was found that 91 percent of respondents had heard of Pope Benedict XVI. Around 39 percent of interviewees stated that they liked him, whereas 23 percent claimed the opposite. On the contrary, 29 percent of respondents were neutral.

Pope Benedict XVI

Pope Benedict XVI was born in Bavaria, Germany as Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger. He was elected as Pope in 2005 after Pope John Paul II and led the Catholic Church until 2013. Indeed, in that year, he announced his resignation due to his advanced age, the first papal resignation after Gregory XII in 1415.

Catholicism in the world

Catholicism is one of the main religions in Europe, mostly practiced in southern countries like Italy, Spain, and Portugal. For instance, almost 60 percent of Spanish people considered themselves Catholic in 2022, although this is down from over 70 percent a decade earlier. Despite Protestantism being the main religion in the North, some northern Europeans are Catholic. For example, over 25 percent of the German population was Catholic in 2021. Finally, at lower rates, Catholicism is also practiced in other countries like the United States, with around 13 percent of Americans identifying as Catholic.