Jubilee 2025 – Pilgrims of Hope

Pope Francis has decided that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee, something which happens every 25 years.

The 2025 Jubilee Year began on Christmas Eve 2024 but it is being launched in schools on 24th January! It will conclude on 6 January 2026.

In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee or Holy Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation.

The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”, and is a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis. 

The Jubilee Year is an opportunity to respond to God’s call to turn to him and to pursue justice. In the Jubilee Year of 2000 many Christians joined together to call for cancellation of debt owed by the world’s poorest countries.

Often people will go on pilgrimage during a Jubilee year, to Rome or another holy site. Pope Francis writes:

“Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life. A pilgrimage on foot is a great aid for rediscovering the value of silence, effort and simplicity of life.” (Spes non confundit #5)

A prayer of hope
God, our loving Father,
in this Jubilee Year,
you remind us of our call to love creation.
Help us to work together
to replant, repair, and renew.
Guide us on our journey
as pilgrims of hope.
Jesus, our light,
In this Jubilee Year,
you remind us of our call to love
our neighbours
and to set free those who suffer.
Help us to treat everyone with dignity;
to be fair, forgiving and kind.
Guide us on our journey
as pilgrims of hope.
Holy Spirit, our inspiration,
in this Jubilee Year, you remind us of our
call to grow in faith and love.
Help us to hear you in scripture, to see
Jesus in others,
and to be united as God’s global family.
Guide us on our journey
as pilgrims of hope.
Amen