Jubilee of the Church 2025
Journeying as Pilgrims of Hope
You may have heard a lot of discussion about the Year of Jubilee inaugurated by Pope Francis for 2025. But what is this Jubilee and how can we celebrate it?
Every 25 years, the Church celebrates an Ordinary (meaning "regularly occurring") Year of Jubilee (or "Holy Year"). Many ways to celebrate this occasion have arisen over the centuries, but at its core the notion of 'jubilee' is very simple. It is a time dedicated to reconciliation and rejoicing. Sins are forgiven, relationships are mended, and so the People of God rejoice.
This year, Pope Francis calls us to focus on the reality of Christian hope, taking for this Jubilee’s motto Peregrinantes in Spem, “Pilgrims of Hope!”
The following sections are meant to help you better understand and appreciate this momentous year in the life of the Church.
Ways to Celebrate the Jubilee
- Learn more about our pilgrimage to Italy this summer, led by our own Fr. Augustine Hilander, O.P., or pilgrimage to sites like St. Dominic's in Benicia.
- Check out the general Jubilee pilgrimage and indulgence information below!
- Reflect on the official Jubilee Prayer and Jubilee Hymn.
Quick Facts
What is a Year of Jubilee?
A Year of Jubilee, echoing the practices recounted in Scripture, is a year of reconciliation and rejoicing. Burdens are lifted, wounds are healed, and the People of God celebrate.
The practice of Jubilee Years in the Church began in 1300, under Pope Boniface VIII. Historically, the Year of Jubilee has centered around a special Jubilee indulgence and pilgrimage to the great churches of Rome.
How often is there a Year of Jubilee?
An Ordinary Year of Jubilee has been held every 25 years since 1450, with only two exceptions—1800 and 1850! The last Ordinary Year of Jubilee was in 2000 under Pope St. John Paul II.
Popes have also convened Extraordinary Years of Jubilee, as Pope Francis did in 2015 for the Year of Mercy.
What is the theme of this Year of Jubilee?
Pope Francis has designated the motto of this Jubilee as Pilgrims in Hope, because, especially today, it is necessary to “fan the flame of the hope that has been given to us” (Letter to Msgr. Fisichella). Among the theological virtues, hope especially “gives inward direction and purpose to the life of believers ... an encounter with the Lord of glory” (Spes non confundit, 18-19).
How can I celebrate this Year of Jubilee?
Historically, the celebration of the Jubilee Year has centered around pilgrimage to Rome, with a special Jubilee indulgence attached to such a journey.
This year, there are many ways of celebrating the Jubilee in addition to the traditional pilgrimage. For a complete list of practices and pilgrimage sites tied to the Jubilee indulgence, see the official document issued by the Holy See. A list of designated national shrines in the US, which qualify as pilgrimage sites, can be found on the National Association of Shrine and Pilgrimage Apostolate website. Additionally, St. Dominic's in Benicia, CA, has been designated a pilgrimage site by the Diocese of Sacramento.
In particular, you may consider joining our pilgrimage to Italy this summer, led by our own Fr. Augustine Hilander, O.P.
In addition to the Jubilee indulgence, other ways of celebrating the Jubilee include using and reflecting upon the official Jubilee Prayer and Jubilee Hymn. You may also consider participating in celebrations associated with the Vatican or your local parish or diocese.
What is an indulgence?
"An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints" (CIC 992, CCC 1471).
The general conditions for indulgences can be found here.
The conditions specific to the Jubilee indulgence can be found here.
What is hope?
St. Thomas Aquinas wisely notes that hope can refer to an emotion or to a theological virtue. What these two have in common is the idea of reaching toward “a future good [which is] difficult but possible to obtain” (Summa Theologica, II-II q. 17 a. 1).
What makes the theological virtue of hope unique, however, is that it “does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love” (Spes non confundit, 3; see Rom 8:37-39).
The good which Christian hope reaches toward is happiness with God in eternity. The journey to heaven is certainly difficult, but God’s grace makes it possible. So, theological hope is the “virtue by which we firmly trust that God will give us eternal life and the means to obtain it” (Baltimore Catechism, 108).