“Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5)
Pope Francis has declared The Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 with the theme: ‘Pilgrims of Hope’.
The Jubilee year opens on December 29, 2024, and closes December 28, 2025.
What is a Jubilee?
In accordance with ancient tradition, a Jubilee is declared by the pope every 25 years.
This Holy Year is intended to be “a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus.” (From the Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025)
Bull of Indiction Jubilee 2025
What is Jubilee 2025?
The theme is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. The intention of the year is to offer all of us an opportunity to be “renewed in hope.”
“God’s word helps us find reasons for that hope. Taking it as our guide, let us return to the message that the Apostle Paul wished to communicate to the Christians of Rome.”
(Bull of Indiction)
This year’s Jubilee also seeks to invite practice of patience, “a virtue closely linked to hope … Patience has been put to flight by frenetic haste, and this has proved detrimental, since it leads to impatience, anxiety and even gratuitous violence, resulting in more unhappiness and self-centredness.”
In addition, Jubilee 2025 coincides with the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, the Synodal conversation of Bishops from which emerged the Nicean Creed and the continued quest “of fitting ways to respond fully to the prayer of Jesus “that they may all be one. As you, Father, are in me and I am in you, may they also be in us, so that the world may believe that you have sent me” ( Jn 17:21).
How do we celebrate a Jubilee?
“Christian life is a journey calling for moments of greater intensity to encourage and sustain hope as the constant companion that guides our steps towards the goal of our encounter with the Lord Jesus.” (Bull of Indiction)
Pilgrimage is a fundamental event of a Jubilee, and can take several forms:
· Holy Doors, opened in Rome
· Physical Pilgrimage to the Vatican or other Holy Shrine
· Spiritual Pilgrimage through Scripture, prayer, reading/learning, and reflection
Signs of Hope are fundamental invitations for events in this Jubilee, including:
· Advocacy and prayer for peace in the world
· Support and openness to transmit and cherish life
· Tangible signs of hope for the marginalized: such as those living in poverty, those in prison, individuals with physical and mental challenges, individuals with health issues
· Engagement of youth and of the elderly in sharing faith and fostering hope
· Care of the Earth and fair development practices for all nations
Continuation of the Synodal Journey is an important aspect of this Jubilee, in honour of the 1700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, especially in unity among the faithful. A common celebration of Easter, which is currently held on different dates in the Eastern and Western churches, is planned for 2025.
How will we celebrate the Jubilee in our diocese?
“In the course of the year, every effort should be made to enable the People of God to participate fully in its proclamation of hope in God’s grace and in the signs that attest to its efficacy.” (Pope Francis in the Bull of Indiction)
Plans are under way for celebrations and events throughout the diocese. The schedule will be posted here.
The CCCB Office of Evangelization and Catechesis has developed resources on our National Shrines, catechetical activities, and more.
See them here:
