Table of Content
Message from Pope Francis
Message from Bishop Charles
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As we commence the Jubilee Year 2025, I wish to share with you the inspiration and guidance offered by Pope Francis in his letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella. The Jubilee is a profound moment in the life of the Church – a sacred time for renewal, reconciliation, and hope – and I invite each of you to join me in celebrating and participating it in a manner that is spiritually enriching and pastorally fruitful.
Pilgrims of Hope
The Holy Father has chosen the motto “Pilgrims of Hope” for the Jubilee. In a world still recovering from the trials of the recent pandemic, this theme calls us to be beacons of hope, walking together with trust in God’s providence. As priests, we are called to inspire our communities to look forward with confidence, fostering a spirit of unity, renewal, and compassionate service.
A Time of Grace and Mercy
Since its institution by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300, the Jubilee has been a time of grace marked by the forgiveness of sins and the outpouring of God’s mercy. As we participate in this sacred year, let us emphasise the sacrament of Reconciliation, ensuring we experience the tender love of the Father. I encourage...
What is a Jubilee?
A Jubilee is a special year of grace and conversion, involving prayer, pilgrimage and sacramental repentance, held every 25 years, or during other years as called for by the Pope. Through a series of concrete rituals, acts and commitments, the goal of a Jubilee year is to inspire and encourage holiness of life among the faithful and therefore to strengthen the Church’s witness to God’s loving mercy in and for the world.
The word “jubilee” is derived from the Hebrew word jobel, which means “ram’s horn”; since it was precisely that horn which was used as a trumpet, whose sound indicated to everybody the beginning of the jubilee year. The book of Leviticus, in the code of holiness, is the source which tells us of the significance of the jubilee year, a year of liberation “par excellence,” which is at the end of seven weeks of years, the fiftieth year.
Papal Bull
Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year of Hope in 2025. The Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican will be opened on 24 December 2024, thus inaugurating the Ordinary Jubilee. On the following Sunday, 29 December 2024, the Holy Door of the Pope’s Cathedral, Saint John Lateran, will be opened. Then, on 1 January 2025, the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God, the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major will be opened. Finally, Sunday, 5 January 2025, will mark the opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls. These last three Holy Doors will be closed on Sunday, 28 December 2025.
Pope Francis decreed that on Sunday, 29 December 2024, in every cathedral and co-cathedral, diocesan bishops are to celebrate Holy Mass as the solemn opening of the Jubilee Year, using the ritual indications that will be provided for that occasion. The Holy Year will conclude in the particular Churches on Sunday, 28 December 2025. The Ordinary Jubilee will conclude with the closing of the Holy Door in the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in the Vatican on 6 January 2026, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.
In the course of the year, every effort should be made to enable the People of God to participate fully in its proclamation of hope in God’s grace and in the signs that attest to its efficacy.
The Jubilee Prayer
Father in heaven,
may the faith you have given us
in your son, Jesus Christ, our brother,
and the flame of charity enkindled
in our hearts by the Holy Spirit,
reawaken in us the blessed hope
for the coming of your Kingdom.
May your grace transform us
into tireless cultivators of the seeds of the Gospel.
May those seeds transform from within both humanity and the whole cosmos
in the sure expectation
of a new heaven and a new earth,
when, with the powers of Evil vanquished,
your glory will shine eternally.
May the grace of the Jubilee
reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope,
a yearning for the treasures of heaven.
May that same grace spread
the joy and peace of our Redeemer
throughout the earth.
To you our God, eternally blessed,
be glory and praise for ever. Amen.
The Jubilee Logo
The logo shows four stylized figures, representing all of humanity, coming from the four corners of the earth. They embrace each other to indicate the solidarity and fraternity which should unite all peoples.
The figure at the front is holding onto the cross. It is not only the sign of the faith which this lead figure embraces, but also of hope, which can never be abandoned, because we are always in need of hope, especially in our moments of greatest need.
There are the rough waves under the figures, symbolising the fact that life’s pilgrimage does not always go smoothly in calm waters. Often the circumstances of daily life and events in the wider world require a greater call to hope. That’s why we should pay special attention to the lower part of the cross which has been elongated and turned into the shape of an anchor which is let down into the waves. The anchor is well known as a symbol of hope. In maritime jargon the ‘anchor of hope’ refers to the reserve anchor used by vessels involved in emergency manoeuvres to stabilise the ship during storms. It is worth noting that the image illustrates the pilgrim’s journey not as an individual undertaking, but rather as something communal, marked by an increasing dynamism leading one ever closer to the cross. The cross in the logo is by no means static, but it is also dynamic. It bends down towards humanity, not leaving human beings alone, but stretching out to them to offer the certainty of its presence and the security of hope. At the bottom of the logo is the motto of the 2025 Jubilee Year: Peregrinantes in Spem (Pilgrims in hope), represented in green letters.
The Official Hymn for the Jubilee “Pilgrims of Hope”
Vatican International Photography Contest – Sport in Motion
In the context of the Jubilee of Sport for the Year 2025, the Dicastery for Culture and Education (Vatican) is promoting an international photography contest, under the title ‘Sport in Motion’. The contest is aimed at young photographers, professional or amateur, under the age of 25. The contest includes 5 categories of photography: Sport and hope (sport as a message of hope to society); Sport and family (sport as a moment of family life); Sport and disability (sport as a platform for inclusion); Sport and politics (sport as a resource accessible to all); Sport and ecology (the relationship of sport with the elements of nature). The deadline for participation ends on April 30, 2025 and the winners will be announced at the Jubilee of Sport (June 14-15, 2025). The winners will be awarded a meeting with the Holy Father, a visit to the Vatican Museums, a workshop in the Osservatore Romano newspaper and the international dissemination of the photos in the Holy See’s media. Entries can be made by email and further information (entry form / rules / jury) can be found on the Dicastery’s website website.
How to Gain a Plenary Indulgence Locally
- Avail oneself of the Sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession, and be detached from all sin, even venial sins.
- Receive Holy Communion.
- Pray for the intentions of Pope Francis, usually done by offering an Our Father and a Hail Mary.
AND
- Together with the three acts already mentioned, add one of these devotional acts:
- Make a devout pilgrimage to St Mary’s Star of the Sea Cathedral or another nominated pilgrimage site (and participate at Mass or join Stations of the Cross, the Rosary or 2nd Rite of Reconciliation), or visit to the Cathedral by spending a suitable amount of time in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the recitation of the Our Father, the Creed, and invocations to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
- Visit, for an appropriate amount of time, our brothers and sisters who are in need or in difficulty (the sick, prisoners, lonely elderly people, people with disability…), in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them (cf. Mt 25, 34-36) according to the usual spiritual, sacramental and prayer conditions.
- Attend spiritual exercises or offer a work of mercy or penance, like:
- fasting and abstinence
- abstaining from superfluous consumption
- abstaining from social media/other virtual distractions for a day, in a spirit of penance
- donate to the poor
- support religious and charitable works,...
Characteristics of a Jubilee Year
- PILGRIMAGE is it fundamental element of every jubilee event. Reminds us of the reality that we come on the church, people on the journey, following the Risen Lord. Going on a pilgrimage is also a chance for prayer, silence, reflection Spiritual nourishment. Bishop Charles County has designated this church, St Mary’s Star the Sea War Memorial Cathedral in Darwin, as a Pilgrim church for the Darwin diocese in this Jubilee Year of 2025.
- A Jubilee Year is a sign of RECONCILIATION because it established a ‘favourable time’ (2 Cor 6:2) for conversion, of putting God at the centre of our lives. In practical terms, it involves receiving the sacrament of Reconciliation/Confession, taking advantage of this time to rediscover the value of examining our lives and experiencing God’s personal words of forgiveness.
- PRAYER, whether liturgical or personal, is of deep importance. The liturgy is the Church’s public prayer, and at the centre of it is the Eucharist, the Holy Mass. There are many reasons and ways for personal prayer, but it is always rooted in the desire to be open to God’s presence and his offer of love in Jesus through the Spirit.
- The PREFESSION OF FAITH is a sign of the identity of...