Jubilee: God’s Independence Day, Conclusion

by Fr. Tony Okolo C.S.Sp., V.F.  |  01/19/2025  |  Weekly Reflection

Beloved Parishioners,

The reflection here is a follow-up to last week’s reflection on the Jubilee year and its origin and significance. If you had no opportunity of reading last week’s reflection it will help you more if you go through the last week to get a complete explanation of the entire reflection.

The first Catholic Jubilee was instituted by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. In his bull Unigenitus Deus, Pope Boniface declared that every 100 years a special Jubilee Year would be celebrated, during which pilgrims could visit the holy sites in Rome and receive spiritual benefits, particularly indulgences—remissions of the temporal punishment due to sin. The practice was to offer Catholics an opportunity to experience a deepening of their faith and a renewal of their relationship with God through prayer, penance, and pilgrimage. However, by the time of Pope Clement VI (1343–1352), the Jubilee Year was celebrated more frequently—every 50 years— and by the 16th century, Pope Sixtus V had set the interval for a Holy Year at 25 years. Over time, the Catholic Church adjusted the interval further, and Jubilee Years were sometimes called more urgently, depending on specific needs or events in the Church or the world such as Pope Francis' declaration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015-2016.

This year, much to our privilege, during a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica on Ascension Thursday, Pope Francis solemnly proclaimed the upcoming Jubilee Year 2025, presenting the Bull of Indiction – “Spes non confundit. Hope does not disappoint” – to the Archpriests of the Papal Basilicas and representatives of the world’s bishops. Pope Francis intends that during the Jubilee Year, every effort should be made to enable the People of God to participate fully in its proclamation of hope in God’s grace and in the signs that attest to their efficacy.

This Jubilee of Hope begins on December 8, 2024, and will continue through the end of 2026. More significantly, the coming Jubilee Year will also coincide with a significant date for all Christians, namely, the 1700th anniversary of the celebration of the first great Ecumenical Council of Nicaea (325). This new Jubilee, however, comes with a distinct focus, as Pope Francis has emphasized the importance of renewal not just within the Church but across the entire world. To mark the beginning of this jubilee, Pope Francis on Christmas Eve 2024, opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. Later, on December 29, 2024, the Pope opened the Holy Door of the Archbasilica of St. John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome. On the same day, every Cathedral and co-Cathedral throughout the world will be expected to have Mass celebrated by the Bishop to mark the opening of the Jubilee Year of Hope. The Jubilee will end in the particular Churches throughout the world on December 28, 2025. However, the Jubilee Year will draw to an official close in Rome on the Solemnity of Epiphany, January 6, 2026.

Expressing his desire that the Jubilee might be an opportunity for us to be renewed in hope, Pope Francis recalled that pilgrimage is a fundamental event of every Jubilee event, traditionally associated with the human quest for the meaning of life. He further invited all the particular churches throughout the world to prepare priests and the faithful for Sacramental Confession, which should be readily available throughout the year. Expressing his ecumenical intentions for the Jubilee, Pope Francis invited the faithful of the Eastern Churches, especially those already in union with the Successor of Peter, to take part in the Jubilee and to feel welcome in the city of Rome.

In conclusion, the Jubilee of Hope comes at a time when the world is in crisis: political divisions are widening, environmental destruction is accelerating, and millions face extreme poverty and exclusion. Against this backdrop, Pope Francis calls for a global Jubilee to offer spiritual and social renewal. The focus of this Jubilee will be to encourage us to seek reconciliation with God, but also with one another, and to renew our commitment to justice, mercy, and peace in the world.