4 Ways to Celebrate Jubilee Year 2025 in the Catholic Church

The Jubilee Year 2025 is a unique and sacred opportunity for Catholics worldwide to deepen their faith, seek reconciliation, and embrace hope. Rooted in rich biblical tradition and celebrated every 25 years, this Holy Year calls the faithful to reflection, renewal, and action. With the theme “Pilgrims of Hope,” the Jubilee offers countless ways to engage in spiritual growth, from passing through Holy Doors to undertaking pilgrimages and exploring indulgences. This guide highlights meaningful ways to participate in this extraordinary year, ensuring a spiritually enriching journey for all.

 

What Is Jubilee in the Catholic Church?

 

“Jubilee” means a special anniversary of an event. In the Catholic Church, it’s a special holy year typically celebrated every twenty-five years. The Vatican’s article,What Is A Holy Year? teaches that it’s a time of:

 

• forgiveness of sins, and punishment due to sin
• reconciliation between adversaries
• conversion and receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation

 

 

The Catholic Jubilee Is Rooted in Old Testament Teaching

 

Leviticus 25: 8-55 describes details of a jubilee year. “Jubilee” from the Hebrew, “jobel”, means “ram’s horn”. A ram’s horn was used as a trumpet, announcing the beginning of a jubilee year in biblical times.

 

Jubilee in the Old Testament was a time to:

 

• grant freedom to servants and slaves
• forgive a partial amount of debt, or cancel it entirely
• restore land to its original owners
• rest the land and avoid agricultural work

 

 

4 Ways to Celebrate Jubilee 2025 in the Catholic Church

 

The Jubilee began on December 24, 2024 when the Holy Father, Pope Francis, opened the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter. It will conclude on January 6, 2026, the Feast of the Epiphany. The theme is Pilgrims of Hope.

 

As with other Jubilees, there are traditions that make this spiritual time of celebration fruitful. Here are some suggestions:

 

 

1. Read and meditate on the Papal Bull.

The Papal Bull of Indiction is an official document written in Latin. It is authored by the Pope and bears his seal. Like encyclicals, it is identified by its opening words and announces the beginning and end dates of the Holy Year.

 

2025 is the year of Hope. The Bull begins with: “Hope does not disappoint” from Romans 5:5. You can find the Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee Of The Year 2025 on the Vatican website.

 

 

2. Make a pilgrimage and pass through Holy Doors.

 

There is a jubilee indulgence (detailed below) the faithful may obtain by traveling to a sacred jubilee site or one locally designated. Passing through the Holy Doors and crossing the threshold is a call to walk a holy life.

 

There are four basilicas in Rome with Holy Doors for jubilee years:

• Peter’s in the Vatican
• John Lateran
• Mary Major
• Saint Paul Outside the Wall

 

In the US, the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops (USCCB) designated the Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception in Washington, D.C. as a special site. If you are looking for a more local option, check your diocesan website for a list of sacred sites.

 

Here are some things to keep in mind when embarking on your pilgrimage:

 

• This is a chance to step away from everyday responsibilities and spend time with God.
• Plan a time to go to confession, preferably before you begin.
• Reflect on what it means to be a “pilgrim of hope”, in keeping with the Jubilee 2025 theme.
• Become acquainted with the conditions for indulgences (below).
• If traveling with a group, try to foster community and encounter God living in others.

 

 

3. Obtain the Jubilee Indulgence when you piously make your pilgrimage.

 

In the Catholic Church there is a doctrine and practice of indulgences found in the Catechism of the Catholic Church. Briefly, it is the remission of temporal punishment due to sins that have been forgiven.

 

There are myths about indulgences due to misunderstanding and past abuses centuries ago. To clarify, they are not a way of trying to work your way into heaven by checking off a list of good deeds.

 

On the contrary, the conditions are linked to the sacrament of confession, which requires humility and a desire for personal conversion. Conditions also include acts of charity (which include the corporal and spiritual works of mercy) as a way of loving God by loving your neighbor.

 

Before beginning your pilgrimage, prayerfully read the Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025 called by His Holiness Pope Francis.

 

 

4. Take advantage of available resources.

 

Below are Jubilee 2025 resources you may find helpful:

 

• USCCB website with Jubilee 2025 information
• The Catholic Current Program: Pilgrims of Hope and Holy Year 2025
• Background information on Jubilee 2025
• Introduction video to Jubilee 2025
• The Vatican Jubilee 2025 website
• The Jubilee Official Store with logo items
• The Jubilee Prayer:

 

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 for ever.

Amen

 

We at Catholic Radio Network hope our programs aid you in your pilgrimage of hope in 2025.

 

You can listen online to one of our five livestreams, find your local station, or download our free app for Apple and Android.