Jubilees are usually years marking a significant anniversary, such as the 25th or 100th anniversary of a historical event or notable date. Historically in the Bible, a Jubilee year occurred every 50 years and involved religious observances as well as the forgiving of debt, freeing of slaves, and other civil matters.
In the Catholic context, the frequency has varied since the first Jubilee in 1300 called by Pope Boniface VIII, but as of 1470 is celebrated every 25 years. What occurs during a Jubilee year has also changed over time, but generally it includes pilgrimages, walking through Holy Doors, and the granting of a plenary indulgence."
Jubilee 2025 was proclaimed by Pope Francis in the Papal Bull Spes Non Confundit (“Hope does not disappoint”).
“The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation.” (Pope Francis, Spes Non Confundit 25)
The jubilee will begin in Rome on the vigil of the Lord’s Nativity on Dec. 24, 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, and in local dioceses on Holy Family Sunday on Dec. 29. It will conclude in local
dioceses the following Holy Family Sunday on Dec. 28, 2025, and in Rome on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, Jan. 6, 2026, with the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Jubilee Prayer
Father 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
Pope Francis“For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ … of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as ‘our hope,'” Pope Francis wrote in the document that officially declared the year.
Here are 10 things to know about the upcoming Jubilee Year.