Hallelujah is the name of the ice cream of the Jubilee Year

The base of the 2025 Easter ice cream is gianduja, hazelnuts and chocolate. Hallelujah is the creation of Vincenzo Squatrito, an ice cream master from Olivieri, a town of 2,000 inhabitants near Messina, and won first prize in the artisanal ice cream category at the International Ice Cream, Pastry and Bakery Exhibition (Sigep) in Rimini. Thirty artisans from all over Europe competed in the competition.

This year’s winning ice cream, which is also the official ice cream of the Holy Year, will be available for pilgrims to try near St. Peter’s Square on March 23. The proceeds will be used for charity.

The Halleluja ice cream idea is the result of a collaboration between Sigep and the Vatican’s Evangelization Office, with the support of the Italian Ministry of Food.

Starting on March 24, the European Day of Artisanal Ice Cream, the public will be able to taste Halleluja ice cream across Europe in all artisanal ice cream parlors that join the initiative.

According to Sigep, ice cream makers in different parts of the continent will also be able to enrich the original version of Halleluja with local products.

Vincenzo Squatrito, who has run the family pastry shop with his twin brother since 1994, won the Italian Artisanal Ice Cream Oscar in 2015.