Pilgrims of Hope

Every 25 years, the Roman Catholic Church holds a Jubilee Year. All members of the global Catholic Church family are called to participate in the Holy Year. It is a time to grow in faith and prayer, to re-establish a proper relationship with God, with one another, and with all creation.

A key aspect of a Jubilee Year is how to live out the mission of the Lord Jesus stated in Luke 4:18-19: ‘The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour.’

The 2025 Jubilee will officially begin at 7.00pm on 24 December 2024, when Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St Peter in Rome, before presiding over the celebration of the Night Mass of the Lord’s Birth inside. The Jubilee Year will conclude on the Feast of Epiphany, Tuesday 6 January 2026. The theme of the 2025 Year of Jubilee is ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’

In the Midlands, Archbishop Bernard will celebrate Mass for the Solemn Opening of the Year of Jubilee at St Chad’s Cathedral on Sunday 29 December.

More details and resources for the 2025 Year of Jubilee can be found:

• From the Vatican HERE.
• From the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales HERE.
• From the Archdiocese of Birmingham HERE.