by Ambassador Callista L. Gingrich
On Dec. 24, Pope Francis will celebrate Christmas Eve Mass and open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, officially beginning the 2025 Jubilee of Hope. As Pope Francis wrote in the Papal Bull of Indiction, the official document proclaiming the Jubilee, “Now the time has come for a new Jubilee, when once more the Holy Door will be flung open to invite everyone to an intense experience of the love of God that awakens in hearts the sure hope of salvation in Christ.”
Coinciding with the 2,025th anniversary of the Incarnation of Jesus Christ, the Jubilee is a significant year-long religious event that offers the Catholic faithful opportunities for penance and spiritual renewal.
The Vatican defines a Jubilee, or Holy Year, as “a year of forgiveness of sins and also the punishment due to sin. … A Jubilee year is above all the year of Christ, who brings life and grace to humanity.”
The first Jubilee was called by Pope Boniface VIII in 1300. Initially, Jubilees were to be celebrated every 100 years, but this was changed to every 50 years by Pope Clement VI in 1343 and then to every 25 years by Pope Paul II in 1470.
The 2025 Jubilee of Hope is an ordinary Jubilee (occurring every 25 years). Popes can also proclaim extraordinary Jubilees (essentially, bonus Holy Years), as Pope Francis did in 2015 with the Year of Mercy.
The Holy Door at the Saint Peter’s Basilica is one of five Holy Doors Pope Francis will open during the 2025 Jubilee of Hope.
Holy Doors will also be opened at Rome’s Rebibbia prison on Dec. 26, the Feast of Saint Stephen; at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran on Dec. 29, the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph; at the Basilica of Saint Mary Major on Jan. 1, the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God; and at the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls on Jan. 5, the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.
The opening of the Holy Door at Rebibbia prison will be historically significant, as it is the first time a Holy Door will be opened at a penal institution. With Pope Francis decreeing hope as “the central message of the coming Jubilee,” he wrote in the Papal Bull that the prison’s Holy Door will be a “sign inviting prisoners to look to the future with hope and a renewed sense of confidence.”
During a Jubilee, pilgrims pass through the Holy Doors, the symbolism of which is reflected in the Gospel of Saint John 10:9, “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.”
By participating in the 2025 Jubilee of Hope, the faithful can obtain a Jubilee Indulgence, which, according to Pope Francis, is “a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy.”
As Pope Francis wrote in the Papal Bull, “[E]very sin ‘leaves its mark’…In our humanity, weak and attracted by evil, certain residual effects of sin remain. These are removed by the indulgence, always by the grace of Christ, who, as Saint Paul VI wrote, ‘is himself our ‘indulgence.’”
In addition to conditions specified by a decree from the Offices of the Apostolic Penitentiary, a Jubilee Indulgence can be obtained through pilgrimages, visits to sacred places, and works of mercy and penance. For those unable to travel, there are opportunities to spiritually participate in a pilgrimage or visit a sacred place designated by a local bishop.
The 2025 Jubilee of Hope will occur from Dec. 24, 2024, through Jan. 6, 2026. The faithful are invited to participate in this Holy Year and receive hope, grace, and renewal through the mercy of Jesus Christ.
For more commentary from Callista Gingrich, visit Gingrich360.com.
