- Pope Francis has launched a special jubilee year for Roman Catholics, a historic event that occurs every 25 years.
- The jubilee year is overshadowed by global unrest, including wars and attacks, with Pope Francis expected to call for peace.
- The Jubilee 2025 mascot, Luce, symbolizes the event’s inclusivity, with groups from various backgrounds expected to participate.
- Despite the global unrest, the Jubilee year stands as a beacon of hope, with the Pope’s call for peace resonating worldwide.
In a historic event that takes place only once every 25 years, Pope Francis has launched a special jubilee year for Roman Catholics. The ceremony, held on Christmas Eve at the Vatican, was marked by the opening of the usually bricked-up Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. This act is significant as it symbolizes the call for all who enter to walk in the holiness of life. The tradition dates back to Pope Martin V who, for the Extraordinary Jubilee of 1423, opened a Holy Door to enter the Lateran Basilica. In St. Peter’s, it was first used for the Jubilee of 1450.
The jubilee year is expected to draw more than 30 million pilgrims from around the world to Rome. They will pass through the Holy Door seeking forgiveness for their sins. The Holy Door is deemed ‘Holy’ since it calls all those who enter through it to walk in the holiness of life. Representatives of the entire People of God crossed its threshold during the singing of the Jubilee hymn, as a prelude to the countless pilgrims of hope from every country and language who will visit St. Peter’s Basilica and celebrate the mysteries of salvation during the Holy Year.
Global Unrest Overshadows Jubilee Year
The jubilee year, however, begins under the shadow of war. The world is darkened by wars and a massive Christmas morning attack on Ukraine by Russia and a plane crash in Kazakhstan. The war in Gaza also shows no signs of ending. Pope Francis, in his traditional Urbi et Orbi (to the city and the world) speech, is expected to call for peace in the Middle East. He used his Christmas Eve mass at the Vatican to urge Christians to think of the wars, of the machine-gunned children, of the bombs on schools or hospitals after another year of raging conflicts.
The 88-year-old pontiff, who has recently been suffering from a cold, was pushed in a wheelchair up to the huge, ornate bronze door and knocked on it, before the doors opened. In a sermon focused on the virtue of hope, which is also the theme of the Holy Year, the pontiff said hope is a summons not to tarry, to be kept back by our old habits, or to wallow in mediocrity or laziness. Hope calls us … to be upset with things that are wrong and to find the courage to change them, he said.
Preparations and Expectations for the Jubilee Year
The Jubilee 2025 mascot is named Luce (meaning Light in Latin) inspired by Japanese anime cartoons. The event will see groups from around the world come to Rome throughout 2025, from sports and business figures to migrants, artists and young people. Among the groups registered on the official site is Italian LGBTQ group La Tenda di Gionata, reflecting the pope’s call for the Church to be open to all.
The Argentine pontiff presided over the special ceremony to open the Jubilee year, during which 30 million visitors are expected to descend on the Italian capital. Much of the Italian capital has also been given a facelift in preparation, with monuments such as the Trevi Fountain and the Ponte Sant’Angelo cleaned up and roads redesigned to improve the flow of traffic.
The event, which happens every 25 years, will begin on Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024; and continue through Epiphany, on January 6, 2026. He also pointed to the, ecological debt connected to commercial imbalances with effects on the environment and the disproportionate use of natural resources by certain countries over long periods of time.
Rome stands to receive some €4 billion ($4.3 billion) in public funds (€1.3 billion in special Jubilee funds and €3 billion in public and other EU post-pandemic funds) to complete works aimed at modernizing roads, public transport, subway and telecommunications systems.
As the world watches, the Jubilee year unfolds, a beacon of hope in troubled times. The Pope’s call for peace and courage to change resonates globally, a reminder of the power of faith and unity. Amidst the global unrest, the Jubilee year stands as a testament to the enduring spirit of humanity and the unyielding hope for a better world.