Jubilee Year 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope
Resources
Click to learn more
The Catholic Church worldwide will be celebrating a special Jubilee Year in 2025. This has been a tradition dating back to the year 1300 when Pope Boniface VIII announced the first Jubilee, which is also referred to as a “Holy Year”. The frequency has changed over time, with a Jubilee Year originally celebrated every 100 years, later every 50 years and, more recently, every 25 years or at the request of the Holy Father.
The Holy Father opened the Jubilee Year on December 24, 2024, with the official opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica and the year will continue until January 6, 2026, the Solemnity of the Epiphany, with the closing of the Holy Door.
A Jubilee Year is a time to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. Jubilee Years were initially marked in Scripture by the remittance of debt and property, and the healing of relationships. The purpose was to bring fairness, healing and peace, and offer a fresh start to the Israelites. 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)
Jubilee Years are a time for special celebrations, pilgrimages, acts of penance, and most importantly, focusing on God’s mercy and forgiveness.
The theme of the 2025 Jubilee will be “Pilgrims of Hope”. In the words of Pope Francis: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision.”
Jubilee 2025 invites us to be Pilgrims of Hope. For Christians, hope is anchored in the encounter with Jesus whose life, death, and resurrection reveals God’s transforming love. Our hope in God is renewed constantly in the gift of the Holy Spirit, the love of the Father and the Son, who is given, even now, to the community of believers. This Holy Year provides a grace-filled opportunity to nurture the seeds of faith in each of us, as we immerse ourselves as Pilgrims of Hope into a year-long journey of prayer, penance, witness and service drawing on the example of Jesus, our Lord. This is a time for us to grow closer to God and to each other, remembering that God always offers us new beginnings.
Jubliee Logo Explained
The cross of Christ is the hope that cannot ever be abandoned, because we are always in need of it, especially in the most difficult moments.
The figures represent all humanity from the four corners of the world. The first figure holds onto the cross and they are embracing each other to illustrate the solidarity among the peoples of the world,
The cross, in the shape of a sail, is transformed into an anchor that imposes itself over the waves in motion. A universal symbol of hope.
The rough sea is a reminder of the difficulties of the pilgrimage of life. Often, personal events as well as those of the world, press on us more intensely demanding a greater hope.
The colours used have distinctive meanings:
• Red symbolizes love, passion and self-sacrifice, Christ’s sacrifice and his boundless love for humanity
• Orange expresses joy, vitality, and enthusiasm, the light that illuminates the path of faith
• Green is universally recognized as the colour of hope, growth, and rebirth
• Blue symbolizes faith, peace, and tranquility, evoking the sky and spirituality, and inviting contemplation and prayer.
Ways To Take Part In The Jubliee Year
- Welcome Christ into your heart – this is a time to intentionally welcome Christ more profoundly into our hearts
- Make time for daily prayer and reflection on the themes of hope, reconciliation and mercy. Pray the Jubilee prayer; pray morning or evening prayer
- Read scripture, especially the psalms and Gospels that speak of the promise of hope
- Make a regular holy hour – monthly, or even weekly, spend some quiet time before the Blessed Sacrament in silent prayer or spiritual reading.
- Dig into the Nicene Creed as we celebrate the 1700th anniversary of the First Council of Nicea and the creed that has become the bedrock of Catholic orthodoxy.
- Perform acts of mercy or kindness that make the world a better place and spread hope.
- Celebrate the sacraments, especially Eucharist and Reconciliation
- Make a pilgrimage, whether to Rome or to a nearby shrine or holy site / designated diocesan pilgrimage site
- Take opportunities to learn more about the fundamentals of the faith
- Receive the Jubilee indulgence, either partial or plenary
- Come to know and imitate the Jubilee Saints: Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati, by studying their lives, imitating their virtues, and seeking their intercession
Resources for Personal / Family Growth in Faith
In this Jubilee Year, we are called to celebrate our Catholic identity, deeply rooted in Jesus Christ and the teachings of the Catholic Church and to foster a renewed sense of hope in those around us. Scripture, the Beatitudes, the Ten Commandments, the Creed, Catholic Social Teaching (CST) and the Sacraments, to name a few, are foundational elements that shape our Catholic identity. They each provide insight into how Catholics are called to live out their faith in both personal and social contexts.
A Jubilee Year is sacred time – a season of renewal, grace and spiritual growth. It is a time to nurture the seeds of faith within, to deepen our personal relationship with Jesus Christ, and to immerse oneself in a Pilgrimage of Hope grounded in prayer, witness, and service.
To help you learn more about your faith and grow closer to God and to each other, new resources will be available on the website every week. The bulletin will let you know the resources that will be added to the website and will be found under the title – NEW THIS WEEK. After a week, they will be moved over under the appropriate tab.