January 7, 2025 // Perspective

Don’t Let Jubilee Year 2025 Pass You By

Our Sunday Visitor

On Christmas Eve, Pope Francis ushered in a gift to the Church that comes once every 25 years: a jubilee year, this year themed “Pilgrims of Hope.” Jubilee celebrations have been held regularly in the Catholic Church since 1300, but they trace their roots to the Jewish tradition of marking a jubilee year every 50 years.

These years in Jewish history were “intended to be marked as a time to reestablish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation, and involved the forgiveness of debts, the return of misappropriated land, and a fallow period for the fields,” according to officials with the Holy See.

Though Rome and the Vatican have spent the past year logistically preparing for the influx of pilgrims they will receive in 2025 for the many scheduled Jubilee events – including the highly anticipated canonizations of Blessed Carlo Acutis and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati – the Jubilee Year can be celebrated by each of us no matter where we may be. And it should be! Jubilee years are opportunities for great graces for the Church and individuals.

Here are three ways Catholics can and should participate.

Read the Papal Bull

Pope Francis has written a spiritually lovely document for the Holy Year, which encourages Catholics “to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence. The signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God’s saving presence, ought to become signs of hope.” These signs of hope include a desire for peace, an openness to life, and special attention to prisoners and the sick, migrants, young people, the elderly, and the poor. It is a document that summons all Christians right to the heart of Jesus Christ’s Gospel, and one that can inspire each of us to live in an intentionally hopeful manner as Jesus’ missionary disciples.

Seek Out an Indulgence

Indulgences – a remission of the temporal punishment a person must endure for his or her sins – have long been a part of jubilee celebrations. The Church has outlined clear rules for how Catholics can gain indulgences on its website, and the most typical of these include the following sequence: visiting a pilgrimage site, going to confession, receiving holy Communion, and praying for the intentions of the Holy Father. But there are also plenty of other acts that can lead to an indulgence, including carrying out an act of charity or participating in a work of mercy.

Make a Pilgrimage

Pilgrimages are a traditional part of jubilee years. Every Catholic ideally should visit his local cathedral – or other locally designated Jubilee pilgrimage site – at some point during the year. Though there are not holy doors in every diocese for this Jubilee as there were during the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015-16, a local pilgrimage offers a fitting opportunity for prayer and reflection. The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington has also been designated as a special place of pilgrimage for the year by the U.S. bishops, so if you find yourself in the nation’s capital, be sure to stop by. Finally, many tours to Rome and the Vatican are available for 2025, should circumstances permit. Despite the crowds, there is no better time to visit the Eternal City than during a jubilee year.

As we enter this Jubilee Year, make a point not to let it pass you by. As Pope Francis writes, “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus.”

The members of the OSV Editorial Board are Father Patrick Briscoe, Gretchen R. Crowe, Paulina Guzik, Matthew Kirby, Peter Jesserer Smith, and Scott P. Richert.