Jubilee Year 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope

A Jubilee Year is a special celebration the Church holds at least once every 25 years. It’s a year of pilgrimages, of a focus on the spiritual life, of confession and special Masses, and of a general turn towards God in thanksgiving, and in repentance. It is also about seeking and giving forgiveness - asking God and one another for forgiveness and offering forgiveness ourselves to those we need to forgive.

In the Bible, God called on His people, through Moses, to celebrate a “Jubilee” every 50 years (cf. Leviticus 25: 8-17). The name came from the instrument used to mark its launch the ram’s horn or yobel. This was used to proclaim the Jewish Day of Atonement (Yom Kippur) each year, but it took on special significance when it marked the beginning of a Jubilee year.

This Jubilee year was intended to be marked as a time to re-establish 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. Land and property, which had been sold or leased, was to be returned to its original owner or their descendants, debts were to be cancelled, and slaves and prisoners were to be freed.  By these customs, Israel was being reminded that all things belong to God and were merely lent to His people during their time on earth and that justice requires a recognition of that.

In St Luke’s Gospel, Jesus, quoting the prophet Isaiah, describes his mission in these terms: “The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me. He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight, to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.” (Luke 4:18-19; cf. Isaiah 61:1-2). Thus Jesus proclaims that his coming is the start of a year of Jubilee and Jesus lives out these words in his daily life, in his encounters with others and in his relationships, all of which bring about liberation and conversion.

Pope St. John Paul II wrote that “The Jubilee was a time dedicated in a special way to God. The Jubilee year was meant to restore equality among all the children of Israel, offering new possibilities to families which had lost their property and even their personal freedom. On the other hand, the Jubilee year was a reminder to the rich that a time would come when their slaves would once again become their equals and would be able to reclaim their rights. 

In the Catholic Church, the ‘Jubilee Year’ or ‘Holy Year’, since it is a time in which God’s holiness transforms us, was used to declare special years for forgiveness and reconciliation. Pope Boniface VIII called the first Jubilee in the year 1300 and proposed that they would be celebrated every 100 years, but later, in 1343 Pope Clement VI reduced the gap to every 50 years and in 1470 Pope Paul II made it every 25 years. There have also been “extraordinary” Holy Years: for example, in 2015 Pope Francis proclaimed the Year of Mercy as an extraordinary jubilee. The way in which Jubilee Years are marked has also changed through the centuries: originally the Holy Year consisted of a pilgrimage to the Roman Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul, later other signs were added, such as the Holy Door. Customarily, Catholics can receive a “Jubilee indulgence” during a Jubilee year, by going to confession, receiving the Eucharist, praying for the pope, and by making a pilgrimage — either to the basilicas of Rome, to the Holy Land, or the cathedral church of a local diocese. Those who could not make a pilgrimage could instead make a spiritual sacrifice or a work of mercy.

The 2025 Jubilee, which has the theme of “Pilgrims of Hope” will be a year of hope and trust for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased threats to the climate. 

Article by Michael Wilson-Smith Nov 24

Diocesan Jubilee Celebration of Hope on Saturday 19 July at Downside School & Abbey. Tickets are limited to 300 which includes a hot lunch or a picnic box for the under 12s. These will be allocated on a first come, first served basis. All the details for the day can also be found on the Eventbrite link: https://jubileedayofhope.eventbrite.co.uk 

Jubilee Celebration of Hope: Our keynote speakers will be: Sr Jane Livesey CJ, Eddie Gilmore and Simon Uttley (See Eventbrite for full information).

What is Jubilee click here

Jubilee Hymn click here

Jubilee Calendar click here

Clifton Diocese - Jubilee 2025