Jubilee 2025
-
-
Pilgrims of Hope | Jubilee Year 2025
A jubilee year is a time for forgiveness and renewal in our relationship with God. Jubilee years were initially marked in Scripture by the remittance of debt and property, and the healing of relationships. The Holy Father desires that this Jubilee Year will be a "moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (cf. Jn 10:7-9)" (Spes Non Confundit, 1).
The 2025 Jubilee officially opened on December 24, 2024, with the rite of Opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter by the Holy Father, who then presided over the celebration of the Night Mass of the Lord's Birth inside the Basilica. The year will end in Rome on January 6, 2026.
Archbishop Richard Henning officially opened the Jubilee Year in Boston on December 29, 2024 at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The year in Boston will end on December 28, 2025.
May the Lord bless this Jubilee Year and draw many more people to him through our own personal witness of his mercy and love!
-
-
-
What is a Jubilee Year?
A jubilee year is a time for forgiveness and renewal in our relationship with God. In the Bible, the year was marked by the remittance of debt and property as well as the healing of relationships (between people, nations, and even the relationship between humans and creation) (cf. Leviticus 25:8-55). The first Christian Jubilee was declared in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII and occurs every 25 years. In 2015 Pope Francis declared an extraordinary Jubilee Year, the Year of Mercy.
Jubilees are still marked by forgiveness and renewal. We are exhorted to conversion, prayer, repentance, and renewed faith. As part of the generosity of the Church and Our Lord, indulgences are given to remove temporal punishment from sins that have been forgiven. Passing through a “holy door” has traditionally been a sign of conversion, passing away from one’s old life and into a life of renewed zeal and faith. This year, the only holy doors are in Rome.
-
-
-
What is the Jubilee Year 2025?
The Holy Father Pope Francis desires the Jubilee Year to be a “moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (cf. Jn 10:7-9)” (Spes Non Confundit, 1).
"The storms that buffet us will never prevail, for we are firmly anchored in the hope born of grace, which enables us to live in Christ … This hope, which transcends life’s fleeting pleasures and the achievement of our immediate goals, … inspires us to keep pressing forward, never losing sight of the grandeur of the heavenly goal to which we have been called. The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God."
We want to reach those at the margins of society (prisoners, elderly, sick, poor) and those at the margins of our parishes (those who do not know Jesus). We want to foster in them a thirst for Jesus himself and curiosity around him that they may accept the invitation to encounter him at our parishes and pilgrimage sites. For our parishioners, we hope this Jubilee Year will foster determination to be a sign of hope for others and engender greater knowledge of God’s mercy, for they are “co-responsible for ensuring that manifold signs of hope bear witness to God’s presence in the world (SNC, 17).
- Spes Non Confundit, 25
-
-
-
Jubilee PrayerFather in heaven, may the faith you have given us in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity enkindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel. May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos in the sure expectation of a new heaven and a new earth, when, with the powers of Evil vanquished, your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen
-
-
-
How can you live the Jubilee Year?
As individuals Pope Francis encourages all of us during this Jubilee Year to encounter the Lord's mercy and then go forth and be a sign of hope to others. We can do this in a number of different ways, by
- Attending the Opening Mass at the Cathedral
- Going on pilgrimage, either locally or to Rome
- Crossing the threshold of the Holy Door
- Seeking Reconciliation
- Taking time for prayer
- Participating in liturgy, such as the Mass or the opening of the Holy Door
- Making a profession of faith
- Obtaining an indulgence
-
-
-
How can parishes live the Jubilee Year?
While pilgrimage sites offer special moments for spiritual renewal and refreshment, parishes are the places pilgrims go for regular spiritual nourishment and accompaniment. Parishes should consider how they can continue to foster the fruits initiated at the pilgrimage sites as well as create a curiosity and thirst for Jesus so people may desire to join in the special graces at the pilgrimage sites. The Archdiocese of Boston will be providing resources for parishes to consider how they might be places of spiritual nourishment and accompaniment during this holy year, but parishes are asked to implement what is appropriate for their community.
-
-
-
Indulgences
For this Jubilee Year, indulgences may be granted to the faithful who are “truly repentant and free from any affection for sin, … moved by a spirit of charity, … [and] purified through the sacrament of penance and refreshed by Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff” (Bollettinio, N. 240513f, May 13, 2024). In addition, the baptized must perform one of following acts specific to the Holy Year to be granted an indulgence:
- Visit a jubilee site
- Participate in a mission, some spiritual exercises, or a study in the documents of Vatican II or the Catechism of the Catholic Church
- Perform spiritual or corporeal works of mercy which express a conversion within baptized.
- Penitential practices in keeping with the spirit of the Jubilee
- Attend the opening of the Jubilee Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross
-
