The Bull of convocation of the Jubilee 2025, which the Pope proclaimed this afternoon in St. Peter's Basilica, in the Solemnity of the Ascension of the Lordis entitled "Spes non confundit" (Hope does not confound), words from the Pauline Letter to the Romans (5:5).
The Pontiff has delegated the reading of significant paragraphs from the Bull of the Holy Year of 2025, which the faithful are preparing these months with a special time of prayerLeonardo Sapienza, regent of the Prefecture of the Pontifical Household and dean of the College of Apostolic Prothonotaries.
At the conclusion of the reading, Pope Francis symbolically gave a copy of the Bull to the archpriests of the Roman basilicas, to the Pro-Prefects of the Dicastery for Evangelization, Archbishop Fisiquella and Cardinal Tagle, and to the Secretary of the same dicastery, Msgr.Nwachukwu, Secretary of the Dicastery, representing all the Bishops of Africa, and the Prefects of the Dicasteries for the Oriental Churches and for Bishops,
Pilgrims of hope
"Spes non confundit", "hope does not disappoint". "Under the sign of hope, the Apostle Paul encouraged the Christian community of Rome. Hope also constitutes the central message of the next Jubilee, which according to an ancient tradition the Pope convokes every twenty-five years," begins the text of the Bull dated by Pope Francis at St. John Lateran on May 9, 2024, the Solemnity of the Ascension of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the twelfth of the Pontificate.
"I am thinking of all the pilgrims of hope who will come to Rome to experience the Holy Year and of those who, unable to come to the city of the Apostles Peter and Paul, will celebrate it in their particular Churches," he said. "May it be for everyone a moment of living and personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the "door" of salvation (cf. Jn 10:7, 9); with Him, whom the Church has the mission to proclaim always, everywhere and to everyone as "our hope" (1 Tim 1:1)".
Preceding events
The Pope immediately affirms that "the Holy Year 2025 is in continuity with the preceding events of grace. During the last Ordinary Jubilee, the threshold of the two thousandth anniversary of the birth of Jesus Christ was crossed. Then, on 13 March 2015, I convoked an extraordinary Jubilee with the aim of manifesting and facilitating the encounter with the 'Face of God's mercy', the central proclamation of the Gospel for all people of all times".
New Jubilee: an itinerary marked by major milestones
"Now the time has come for a new Jubilee, to open wide the Holy Door once again and offer the living experience of God's love, which arouses in the heart the certain hope of salvation in Christ.
At the same time, this Holy Year will point the way to another fundamental anniversary for all Christians: in 2033 we will celebrate the two thousandth anniversary of the Redemption accomplished through the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord Jesus," the Pontiff said,
Opening of Holy Doors: 7 Key Dates
"We thus find ourselves facing an itinerary marked by great stages, in which the grace of God precedes and accompanies the people who walk enthusiastically in faith, diligent in charity and persevering in hope," he continued. "Supported by this long tradition and with the certainty that this Jubilee Year will be for the whole Church an intense experience of grace and hope, I dispose."
1) that the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican be opened on December 24, 2024, thus beginning the Ordinary Jubilee.
2) on the following Sunday, December 29, 2024, I will open the Holy Door of the Cathedral of St. John Lateran, which on November 9 of this year will celebrate the 1700th anniversary of its dedication.
3) Then, on January 1, 2025, the Solemnity of St. Mary, Mother of God, the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Mary Major will be opened.
4) And finally, on Sunday, January 5, the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls will be opened. These last three Holy Doors will be closed on Sunday, December 28th of the same year".
In the dioceses: December 29, 2024
5) "I further establish that on Sunday, December 29, 2024, in all cathedrals and co-cathedrals, the diocesan bishops shall celebrate the Eucharist as the solemn opening of the Jubilee Year, according to the Ritual to be prepared for the occasion. In the case of the celebration in a co-cathedral church, the bishop may be substituted by a delegate expressly designated for this purpose.
That the pilgrimage from a church chosen for the collectio to the cathedral be a sign of the journey of hope which, illuminated by the Word of God, unites believers. During this pilgrimage, some passages of the present Document should be read and the Jubilee indulgence, which can be obtained according to the prescriptions contained in the same Ritual for the celebration of the Jubilee in the particular Churches, should be announced to the people.
6) During the Holy Year, which in the particular Churches will end on Sunday, December 28, 2025, care should be taken that the People of God welcome with full participation both the proclamation of the hope of God's grace and the signs that bear witness to its efficacy.
7) The Ordinary Jubilee will close with the closing of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican on January 6, 2026, the Epiphany of the Lord. May the light of Christian hope reach all people, as a message of God's love for all. And may the Church be a faithful witness of this proclamation in every part of the world".
"For everyone an occasion to revive hope".
"Everyone hopes. In the heart of every person nestles hope as a desire and expectation of the good, even in ignorance of what tomorrow will bring. However, the unpredictability of the future often gives rise to conflicting feelings: from confidence to fear, from serenity to discouragement, from certainty to doubt. We often meet discouraged people, who look to the future with skepticism and pessimism, as if nothing could offer them happiness".
"May the Jubilee be for everyone an occasion to rekindle hope. The Word of God helps us to find its reasons. Let us allow ourselves to be led by what the Apostle Paul wrote precisely to the Christians of Rome," Francis said.
Peace, life, the poor, prisoners, migrants, the elderly, youth, Nicea...
The Pope writes in the Bull that "in addition to attaining the hope that God's grace gives us, we are also called to rediscover it in the signs of the times that the Lord offers us. [And "the signs of the times, which contain the yearning of the human heart in need of God's saving presence, need to be transformed into signs of hope".
Some signs of hope detailed by the Holy Father in the Jubilee Bull are peace for the world, openness to life, attention to the poor, prisoners, migrants or the elderly, youth initiatives, or the 1.700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea, which "represents an invitation to all the Churches and ecclesial communities to continue on the path towards visible unity, to never tire of seeking suitable ways to fully correspond to the prayer of Jesus: 'That they all may be one: as you, Father, are in me and I in you, that they also may be one in us, so that the world may believe that you sent me'".
The foundation of our hope
At another point, the Pope reflects on the fact that "Jesus died and rose again is the center of our faith." [Christ died, was buried, rose again and appeared. For us he went through the drama of death", and he states that "hope finds its highest witness in the Mother of God. In her we see that hope is not a futile optimism, but a gift of grace in the realism of life".
Finally, the Holy Father encourages us to let ourselves be "attracted from now on by hope and allow it to be contagious through us to all who desire it. May the strength of that hope fill our present in confident expectation of the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and glory now and for ages to come".
