JUBILEE YEAR 2025
“A Jubilee Year is traditionally proclaimed by the Universal Church every 25 years. It is a
particular year set aside to encourage the faithful to embark on pilgrimages, to repent of their
sins and forgive the sins of others, and to renew a focus on the spiritual life. In the Hebrew
tradition, as recorded in Leviticus, a Jubilee was celebrated every 50 years with the freeing of
slaves and the forgiveness of debts. In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII instituted the first Christian
Jubilee, and since then the Church has designated each new Jubilee as a special year of grace and
forgiveness, offering the faithful an opportunity to obtain a plenary indulgence.” Catholic
Diocese of Peterborough
On Christmas eve 2024 Pope Frances declared 2025 a Year of Jubilee with a papal bull,
titled “Spes Non Confudit,” meaning “Hope Does Not Disappoint.” The Jubilee Year begun
with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The central message of this Jubilee year is “HOPE” and the theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”
During this year 2025 “the pope invites us to renew in the hope of Christ, using St. Paul the
Apostle as a guide for this special year”.
He went on to say that “we all know what it is to hope” and “in the heart of each person, hope
dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the
future may bring. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting
feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm
conviction to hesitation and doubt. Often we come across people who are discouraged,
pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness”.
Pope Francis invites us to become “pilgrims of hope” emphasizing that “hope and kindness touch
the very heart of the Gospel.” He goes on to say that “kindness is not a diplomatic strategy or a
set of rules to ensure social harmony or to obtain other advantages” but rather “a form of love
that opens hearts to acceptance and helps us all to become more humble.”
Joan Isichi, RSCJ