Jubilee 2025

Jubilee History  

In English a “jubilee” is the celebration of a special anniversary.  For the ancient Hebrews, the word had a religious meaning. Every year the Jewish people celebrated the Day of Atonement or Yom Kippur. Every 50 years, Yom Kippur started a Jubilee Year which was a time set aside to make things that were wrong, right - a time to reconcile with God and one another. It involved forgiving debts, returning stolen goods, helping the poor, setting prisoners free, and even giving the fields a rest by letting them lay fallow or unplanted. The Day of Atonement began with the sounding of the yobel, a instrument made from a ram’s horn.

When Jesus began teaching, he announced that he was bringing a time of Jubilee to all. He said: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord” (Luke 4:18-19). Jesus lived these words by loving others especially the outcasts of society, by healing the sick and feeding the hungry, and above all, by dying on the Cross which granted the greatest freedom to all – freedom from of sin.
 
In 1300, Pope Boniface VIII brought the tradition of the Jubilee Year, or Holy Year, to the Catholic Church. At first Holy Years were celebrated every 100 years. Later, in 1343, Pope Clement VI made them more frequent, celebrated every 50 years. In 1470 Pope Paul II changed the period to every 25 years. Eventually Extraordinary Holy Years, or extra jubilees celebrated on special occasions, were added. For example, in 1933 Pope Pius XI celebrated the 1900th anniversary of Christ’s Death and Resurrection, and in 2000 Pope John Paul II celebrated the 2000th birthday of Jesus Christ.
 
Originally people celebrated Jubilee years with a pilgrimage or holy journey to the basilicas, or great churches, of St. Peter and St. Paul in Rome during a Holy Year. Later other practices were added, such as the opening of a Holy Door which was always locked except during the jubilee. To this day, those who participate in a Holy Year are granted a plenary indulgence or forgiveness of one’s purgatory due to sins.
 
The theme of the Jubilee of 2025 is HOPE. Catholics from around the world are encouraged to make a pilgrimage to Rome or holy place within their dioceses. Each week in the 2025, a different group of people such as police, artists, priests, young persons, etc. are celebrated as God’s instruments of hope to the world. 

The People

The Jubilee logo shows four figures, representing all of humanity, coming from the four corners of the earth, called by God to travel the journey or pilgrimage to heaven.  The people embrace each other to indicate that unity and love should unite all peoples. The figure at the front holds the cross - a sign of faith, hope, and of Jesus Christ who is our greatest strength. 

Rough Waves

Under the figures, the rough waves symbolizes the rough waters of life’s pilgrimage, with circumstances that require us to have great hope. The lower part of the cross, an anchor dropping into the waves, reminds us that God is our anchor in difficult times.
   

The Cross

The cross bends toward the pilgrims, showing that Jesus does not leave us alone, stretching toward us, offering the certainty of his nearness.