Many of the special events we celebrate happen on a yearly basis. We mark birthdays, anniversaries, and holidays. Similarly, the Church has holy days each year to mark the significant events in the life of Jesus and the feast days of saints. In addition to this, we all know the importance of celebrating milestones that happen less frequently. A 75th birthday or a 50th wedding anniversary is an occasion worthy of extra-special festivities. The Catholic Church does a similar thing, holding a Jubilee (or Holy Year) every 25 years. In fact, Pope Francis inaugurated the next Jubilee on December 24, 2024.
The Jubilee is a longstanding tradition among God’s people, going back generations before Jesus. It derives from the importance of the number seven as the number of the covenant. This is one reason the seventh day was a holy day, the Sabbath. In Leviticus 25, God instructed the people that every seventh year was also holy, a sort of “sabbath year.” In addition, God told them to count seven “sabbath years” and observe the year that followed the seventh one as a year of jubilee. Thus, this observance came every 50 years (after seven sets of seven years: 7 x 7 = 49 years). After the coming of Christ, Jubilees have been celebrated at different intervals: at times 100 years, 50 years, or the current practice of 25 years. The pope can also call a special Jubilee outside of the normal rotation, as Pope Francis did in 2015-2016 to mark the 50th anniversary of Vatican II.
Before Jesus, the year of Jubilee was a time of rest and restoration. Servants were set free, and debts were canceled. The fields were allowed to go fallow. If anyone had lost or sold the lands given to their ancestors by God himself, that property would be returned to them free of charge. Today, the Holy Year is also a time of grace and reconciliation. There is often a particular emphasis on receiving the sacrament of confession, and special indulgences are available, too. It is also viewed as a time of pilgrimage. While many people will travel to Rome as pilgrims, all of us are reminded that we are pilgrims in this life. The motto of the Jubilee 2025 is “Pilgrims of Hope.” The most visible symbol of the Jubilee is related to this: the Holy Door. At the major basilicas in Rome, there is a door that is usually blocked up and unable to be opened. At the start of the Jubilee year, the door is unblocked and then opened by the Pope himself. He enters it as the first pilgrim leading God’s people towards the Father through Jesus, who calls Himself the door or gate in the Gospels.
To learn more about the 2025-2026 Holy Year, you can visit the official website by clicking here.
Fr. Joah Ellis
Pastor
