The Jubilee Year

by Rev. Gabriel Baltes, O.S.B.  |  01/19/2025  |  A Message from Our Pastor

Dear Parishioners,

By now, most Catholics are aware that Pope Francis has announced that 2025 will be a Jubilee Year for the universal church, with the theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” Some might wonder, what exactly is a “Jubilee Year” in the Catholic Church? Essentially, it is a year designated with the specific purpose of re-establishing a proper relationship with God, one another, and all of creation. This custom has ancient roots in the history of Israel and can be found in various places in the Old Testament, for example, Leviticus 25. The people of Israel celebrated these jubilee years every 50 years to re-align themselves with the covenant relationship that God had established with them. There was a strong emphasis on mercy and forgiveness. Legal debts were absolved. Broken relationships were to be healed. Even the earth was brought into this jubilee year by having its farmland lie fallow to rest and be restored after years of providing harvests.

The first jubilee year was announced by Pope Boniface VIII on Feb. 22, 1300, to mark the beginning of a new century. He recommended that jubilee years be observed every one hundred years. Eventually, they came to be observed every twenty-five years unless a particular pope chose to designate an “Extraordinary Jubilee Year,” which Pope Francis did in 2015, focusing on mercy. This year’s jubilee, “Pilgrims of Hope,” is intended to deepen humanity’s hope at this time in our world suffering from the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis. In addition to the theme of hope, the jubilee year will also coincide with a date that is significant for all Christians, namely the 1700th anniversary of the first great ecumenical council of Christendom, the Council of Nicaea. This council was called to settle one of the most important debates in our faith, namely the nature of Jesus Christ. At this time, there were several theological explanations of who and what Jesus was. Some of these explanations were heretical or not accurate in their explanations. To resolve this issue once and for all, Emperor Constantine gathered a large number of bishops and theologians at his imperial palace in 325 who, after rigorous argumentation, promulgated the definitive statement that Jesus Christ, the Son of God, is “God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God. Begotten, not made, consubstantial with the Father.” We pray this statement each Sunday in the liturgy at the Profession of Faith.

One of the ritual hallmarks of Jubilee Years is the solemn opening of a door at each of the four major basilicas in Rome, i.e., St. Peter’s, St. John Lateran, St. Paul’s Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major. These doors are sealed most of their existence and unsealed at the beginning of Jubilee Years. Pilgrims who visit Rome during this time are encouraged to walk through these doors that are meant to symbolize a threshold into a new phase of humanity.

More information about the jubilee year of hope is forthcoming. I encourage all our parishioners to pray the official Jubilee Prayer regularly, perhaps at family gatherings or evening meals. May this year be an enriching time for the church and the world, both of which crave that divine hope that only God can provide.

Blessings,
Fr. Gabriel, O.S.B.