On May 9, 2024, Pope Francis released the Bull of Indiction Spes non confundit (“Hope does not disappoint”) announcing the Ordinary Jubilee Year of 2025. The Jubilee will begin in Rome on the Vigil of the Lord’s Nativity, December 24, 2024, and in local dioceses on Holy Family Sunday, December 29. It will conclude in local dioceses the following Holy Family Sunday, December 28, 2025, and in Rome on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord, January 6, 2026.
Structure and Theme of Jubilee Celebrations
A Jubilee Year is a significant moment in the life of the Church in which she celebrates the year of messianic favor inaugurated by Christ through his Incarnation and Paschal Mystery (cf. Luke 4:19; John Paul II, Tertio millennio adveniente, nos. 11-16). Proclaimed every 25 years since the 13th century, the celebration of jubilee years typically includes pilgrimages, processions, celebrations of Mass, and an invitation to the Sacrament of Reconciliation. These liturgical celebrations are opportunities to receive the Lord’s mercy, especially through the practice of the Jubilee indulgence, and lead to the performance of works of mercy.
The theme for this Jubilee is Pilgrims of Hope, and the Bull suggests several ways to bring Christ and his message of hope to the world, for example, by working for peace and an end to conflicts, promoting human life, showing amnesty to prisoners, upholding the dignity of migrants, healing the sick, and accompanying the elderly—or even through the forgiveness of debts, a custom of jubilee years in the Old Testament. Those planning diocesan liturgies will need to take into account the Bull’s indications regarding the Opening Mass to be held in each diocese (cf. no. 6) as well as the Jubilee Celebration Calendar found at USCCB.org/resources/Jubilee Celebration Calendar.pdf.
Throughout the Jubilee Year, there will be celebrations for different groups, for example, workers, youth, artists, persons with disabilities, catechists, etc., and resources from the USCCB for these celebrations will become available this fall.
Several aspects of the Bull touch more directly upon the liturgy, and a summary of those points is presented below: baptismal fonts, Holy Doors and indulgences, the common date of Easter, and the Sacrament of Reconciliation and Missionaries of Mercy.
Baptismal Fonts
Christian hope is rooted in the saving work of Christ and our participation in that work through the sacrament of Baptism: “The death and resurrection of Jesus is the heart of our faith and the basis of our hope” (no. 20). In this light, the Jubilee Year is an opportunity for the Christian faithful to appreciate the gift of Baptism more deeply, and the Holy Father proposes the baptismal font as an object for further reflection. In particular, the ancient custom of building eight-sided fonts manifests the Sacrament of Baptism as a work of creation and resurrection. In the words of the Holy Father, “Baptism is the dawn of the ‘eighth day,’ the day of the resurrection, a day that transcends the normal, weekly passage of time, opening it to the dimension of eternity and to life everlasting: the goal to which we tend on our earthly pilgrimage” (no. 20).
Holy Doors and Indulgences
The Lord Jesus is the door of our salvation (cf. no. 1), a fact which is symbolized through the spiritual practice of passing through specially designated doors of various churches. The Ordinary Jubilee will begin with the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica on December 24, and the Holy Father will then open Holy Doors at the other major Roman Basilicas: St. John Lateran on December 29, St. Mary Major on January 1, and St. Paul Outside the Walls on January 5. Additionally, the Holy Father hopes to open a Holy Door in a prison, since the year of the Lord’s favor is a year when liberty and release are proclaimed to captives and prisoners (cf. Luke 4:18). The opening of the Holy Door at St. John Lateran on December 29 will coincide with the diocesan opening of the Jubilee Year, when diocesan bishops or their delegates are to celebrate Mass in every cathedral and co-cathedral. Ritual indications for these diocesan celebrations are forthcoming.
While the Bull of Indiction inaugurating the Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy (2015-2016), Misericordiæ vultus, explicitly noted the opening of Holy Doors in cathedrals, co-cathedrals, churches, and other places of pilgrimage, a similar note is not present in the Bull inaugurating the Jubilee Year of 2025. Thus, unless other indications are given, it does not appear that the Diocesan Bishop may open holy doors during this Jubilee. Nevertheless, according to section I of the Decree on the Granting of the Indulgence, the Jubilee indulgence may be obtained by visiting cathedral churches or other churches or sacred places designated by the local Ordinary.
Common Date of Easter
This year marks the 1,700th anniversary of the First Ecumenical Council at Nicaea, which, among other things, discussed the method for calculating the date of Easter. Providentially, the dates for the celebration of Easter on the Julian and Gregorian calendars will coincide in 2025; East and West will celebrate the Lord’s resurrection together. This concurrence is an appeal for all Christians to take a step toward unity on this most important feast. May our celebration witness to our unity in Christ, heal divisions, and be a sign of communion.
Reconciliation and Missionaries of Mercy
The liturgical year is marked by moments of greater intensity such as the season of Lent, and Jubilee years are a similar time in the life of the Church. In Jubilee celebrations throughout the Church, “the power of God’s forgiveness can support and accompany communities and individuals on their pilgrim way” (no. 5). The sacrament of forgiveness, in particular, fosters hope, heals present woes, frees the soul, and opens the way to eternal life. According to Pope Francis, “The sacrament of Reconciliation is not only a magnificent spiritual gift, but also a decisive, essential and fundamental step on our journey of faith. There, we allow the Lord to erase our sins, to heal our hearts, to raise us up, to embrace us and to reveal to us his tender and compassionate countenance” (no. 23).
For this purpose, the Holy Father established Missionaries of Mercy during the Jubilee Year of Mercy. Pope Francis encourages these specially designated priests to continue their mission and emphasizes the importance of their work in places where hope is tested, for example, “[in] prisons, hospitals, and places where people’s dignity is violated, poverty abounds and social decay is prevalent” (no. 23).
Image Source: AB/Daniel Ibañez
