Jubilee Year 2025 - Pilgrims of Hope

Spes Non Confundit “Hope does not disappoint” (Romans 5:5)

The Catholic Church worldwide celebrates a special Jubilee Year in 2025. This has been a tradition dating back to the year 1300 when Pope Boniface VIII announced the first Jubilee, which is also referred to as a “Holy Year”. The frequency has changed over time, with a Jubilee year originally celebrated every 100 years, later every 50 years and, more recently, every 25 years or at the request of the Holy Father.

It is a time for the faithful to engage in prayer, reflection, and acts of charity, fostering a deeper relationship with God and the Church. The Jubilee invites individuals to acknowledge their sins, seek forgiveness, and commit to living a life of holiness and service.

Whether we celebrate locally (in our dioceses, cathedrals or Canada’s National Shrines) or make a pilgrimage to Rome, we are called to search for signs of hope and be signs of hope in our families, for our neighbours, the imprisoned, the sick and dying, the young and old.

Indeed, hope does not disappoint! May the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door” (cf. Jn 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as “our hope” (1 Tim 1:1).