What is a jubilee year?
In the Old Testament, a Jubilee year was held every fifty years. The year was a time of universal pardon where slaves were freed and debts were forgiven. The Jubilee was seen as an opportunity to re-establish a relationship with God, with each other, and creation. In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII instituted the first Christian Jubilee. Since its establishment, the church has designated each Jubilee year as a special year of grace and forgiveness with the opportunity to receive a plenary indulgence.
The Jubilee year of 2025 is entitled “Pilgrims of Hope.”
At a time when many countries suffer from war, climate change, and financial hardship, Pope Francis hopes that the Jubilee year is an opportunity to restore hope, a time for renewal and rebirth. The Jubilee year begins on the eve of Christmas, 2024, with the opening of the Holy Door in the Basilica of St Peter’s, Rome, and will close on the feast of Epiphany in 2026.
Plenary Indulgences
Throughout a Jubilee year, the church offers the faithful the possibility of receiving the gift of a plenary indulgence, a remission of sins for either themselves or those who have died. A Plenary Indulgence is an opportunity for us to receive the mercy of the Lord, to draw closer to God and to experience the joy of forgiveness. To those who cannot participate in the Jubilee celebrations due to being sick, elderly or housebound, they too can receive a Jubilee indulgence.
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 forever. Amen