QUESTIONS: Pope Francis solemnly proclaimed the upcoming Jubilee Year 2025 with the Bull of Indiction, “Spes non confundit – Hope does not disappoint.” But what is a Jubilee? What are the origins of Christian Jubilees? And why is the Jubilee Year 2025 important for all Catholics? – SIJAN JOSE

ANSWER: Jacob Parappally MSFS

Jubilees are celebrated in both Christian and secular traditions. Named after precious metals like silver, gold, diamond, and platinum– corresponding to the number of years completed in the life of a person or institution–they are celebrated with much gaiety and enthusiasm. However, some may not know the origin of the term “jubilee” or its significance when it was first introduced in the religion of its origin, namely, the Jewish religion. The term “jubilee” originated from the Hebrew word yobel, which means ram’s horn. This horn was used to make a trumpet called the shofar, which was used to announce the beginning of a joyful event. The English term “jubilee” is derived from the Latin term iobeleus, which is the translation of yobel in the Vulgate Bible.

In the Jewish religious tradition, a jubilee is celebrated every 50th year, following the completion of 49 years or seven cycles of sabbatical years. One sabbatical year consists of seven years, and when multiplied by seven, it totals forty-nine. In biblical tradition, the number seven symbolizes perfection, and seven times seven represents the completion of perfection. According to chapters 25 and 27 of the Book of Leviticus, during the year of jubilee, slaves are freed, debts are forgiven, and all leased or mortgaged lands are returned to their original owners. The disadvantaged and the dispossessed eagerly awaited the year of Jubilee with hope and joy.

Christian Tradition of Jubilee

In the Catholic tradition, every celebration of the Jubilee is an occasion to celebrate God’s favour to humanity through reconciliation brought about by Jesus Christ and its actualization in the hearts of humans through the Holy Spirit. According to one Vatican document on Jubilee, “In the Roman Catholic tradition, a Holy Year, or Jubilee, is a great religious event. It is a year of forgiveness of sins and also the punishment due to sin; it is a year of reconciliation between adversaries, of conversion and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, and consequently, of solidarity, hope, justice, and commitment to serving God with joy and in peace with our brothers and sisters. A Jubilee year is, above all, the year of Christ, who brings life and grace to humanity.”

In the Christian tradition, after the first Jubilee in 1300, Pope Boniface VIII declared that a jubilee could only be celebrated every 100 years. In 1342, the faithful of Rome pleaded with Pope Clement VI to increase the frequency of the celebration of Jubilee to every 50 years. In 1389, Pope Urban VI deemed it appropriate to celebrate Jubilees every 33 years in remembrance of the historical life of Jesus. However, in 1400, during the papacy of Pope Boniface IX, although a Jubilee year was not declared, pilgrims flocked to Rome  following the previous 50-year cycle of Jubilee, and the Pope granted them Jubilee indulgences. Pope Martin V celebrated a new Jubilee in 1425, opening the door of St. John Lateran for the first time. It was Pope Nicholas V who celebrated a Jubilee of the 50-year cycle in 1450. Pope Paul II, who was the pope from 1464 to 1471, extended the inter-jubilee period to 25 years. In 1475, a Holy Year was celebrated by Pope Sixtus IV. From then on, ordinary Jubilees were held at regular intervals.

“It is in the context of hopelessness–which generates uncertainty about the future and evokes negative and conflicting feelings and attitudes such as apprehension, anxiety, hesitation, and doubt–that the theme, ‘Hope does not disappoint us,’ becomes highly relevant.”

A Jubilee can be “ordinary” if it is celebrated after a set period of time, such as 25 years, and “extraordinary” when it is proclaimed for some outstanding event. There have been twenty-six “ordinary” Holy Years so far. On March 13, 2015, Pope Francis proclaimed an “extraordinary Jubilee” to make known and encourage an encounter with the “merciful face of God.” In line with ordinary Jubilees, the new holy year 2025 was proclaimed by Pope Francis with the theme: Spes non confundit–Hope does not disappoint. The theme was published in the Bull of Indiction on May 9, 2024. The logo of the Jubilee Year includes the motto “Pilgrims of Hope.” In the context of war and violence, natural calamities, and the spread of pandemics, thousands of people flee from their countries for survival; apparent hopelessness seems to define the present times. Through the celebration of the Holy Year 2025, the Church wants to convey to the world that it is a sign of hope. Pope Francis writes in the document Spes non confundit that, “In addition to finding hope in God’s grace, we are also called to discover hope in the signs of the times that the Lord gives us. The signs of the times, which include the yearning of human hearts in need of God’s saving presence, ought to become signs of hope” (n. 7).

Hope Doesn’t Disappoint Us

In the Bull of Indiction, Spes non confundit or Hope does not disappoint, Pope Francis explains both the foundation of our hope and what it demands from us when he says, “The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require–in the Church and in

society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation” (Bull, n. 25). At the beginning of this document, referring to the pilgrims of hope who either travel to Rome to celebrate or celebrate in their parishes or communities, Pope Francis says, “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (cf. John 10:7.9) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere, and to all as ‘our hope’ (1 Timothy 1:1).”

It is in the context of hopelessness–which generates uncertainty about the future and evokes negative and conflicting feelings and attitudes such as apprehension, anxiety, hesitation, and doubt–that the theme, “Hope does not disappoint us,” becomes highly relevant. People are losing confidence, serenity, and convictions. Many feel “discouraged, pessimistic, and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness.” In this context, it is the Holy Spirit who guides the Church, gives her the gift of hope, and makes her a credible witness of hope. For “Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love: ‘Who will separate us from the love of Christ? Hardship, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or the sword? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord’” (Rom 8:35, 37-39) (No. 4).

A Call to be Messengers and Signs of Hope

During the Extraordinary Jubilee of 2015, Catholics were called to experience the mercy of God and to show the merciful face of God the Father to the world. Its motto was “Merciful like the Father.” In the present document announcing the Jubilee Year 2025, Pope Francis appeals to all Catholics to be messengers of hope. In our present times, with all the facilities for communication, especially the internet, people often have no time or patience to relate to one another. Hope can only be engendered through relationships, which can be fostered in families and in all other places of interaction among humans when we have patience for one another. Furthermore, hope can be shared when we are messengers of peace in the context of war and violence of all kinds. This Jubilee reminds every faithful person that peacemakers are called “children of God” (Matthew 5:9). The Pope says, “The need for peace challenges us all and demands that concrete steps be taken. May diplomacy be tireless in its commitment to seek, with courage and creativity, every opportunity to undertake negotiations aimed at lasting peace” (No. 8).

As messengers of peace and signs of hope, Catholics need to show the world that they have enthusiasm for life and are ready to share it. In situations where there is a loss of the desire to transmit life, Catholics must champion the cause of life, especially in countries and places where there is an alarming decline in birthrate. This decline is likely due to fears about the future, growing unemployment, and a lack of adequate social policies. When people prioritize selfish interests and comforts and place more importance on making money than on human relationships, the enthusiasm to transmit life and care for children becomes a burden. Giving hope in such situations demands that Catholics become examples of joyful sharers of life and hope.

The document states, “For the desire of young people to give birth to new sons and daughters as a sign of the fruitfulness of their love ensures a future for every society. This is a matter of hope: it is born of hope and it generates hope.” To achieve this, “the Christian community should be at the forefront in pointing out the need for a social covenant to support and foster hope, one that is inclusive and not ideological, working for a future filled with the laughter of babies and children, in order to fill the empty cradles in so many parts of our world” (No. 8).

Another tangible way of being signs of hope is to give hope to prisoners languishing in prisons by working for their liberation so they can begin their lives anew. “In every part of the world, believers, and their pastors in particular, should be one in demanding dignified conditions for those in prison, respect for their human rights, and above all, the abolition of the death penalty, a provision at odds with Christian faith and one that eliminates all hope of forgiveness and rehabilitation” (No. 10).

Reaching out to the sick and suffering in hospitals with love and compassion is also another way of giving hope. The young are signs of hope and need to be given hope as they face situations in which their dreams and aspirations are shattered. Migrants, elderly people, the homeless, and impoverished people need special attention and care. As life becomes a burden for them, our reaching out to them would give them hope to live on.

Globally, only an equitable distribution of wealth can engender hope. Pope Francis appeals to nations by “Echoing the age-old message of the prophets, the Jubilee reminds us that the goods of the earth are not destined for a privileged few, but for everyone.” He further appeals to affluent nations to “acknowledge the gravity of so many of their past decisions and determine to forgive the debts of countries that will never be able to repay them. More than a question of generosity, this is a matter of justice.” The demands of the Jubilee year extend to all human beings because the hope it shares is based on the reality of the interconnectedness of all humans among themselves and with God.

“The coming Jubilee Year will also coincide with a significant date for all Christians, namely, the 1700th anniversary of the celebration of the first great Ecumenical Council, that of Nicaea,” in which the communion of the Father and the Son was confessed and declared by all the Churches in 325. It is also a call to all Churches and Ecclesial Communities of the present time to witness the visible unity of the Church for which Jesus prayed before the end of his earthly life. Such unity is a powerful sign of hope in a divided world!

Anchored in Hope

Christian life needs to be anchored in hope. Hope is not only a theological virtue but also gives direction to one’s life in Christ, which begins in baptism and ends in a hopeful death. The death and resurrection of Christ give hope for an everlasting life. Mary, the Mother of the Lord and our Mother, is the best witness of hope for every Christian because she did not give up hope amid all her sufferings, even when she saw the death of her beloved Son on the cross. Hundreds of martyrs gave up their lives for Christ in the hope of living with him forever.

Christian hope is not an empty wish or desire. It is suffused with certainty, which is revealed in Jesus Christ and guaranteed by the Holy Spirit. It involves faith in a God who makes everything new and everything well. What is required of humans is to cooperate with God to make it happen, even amid apparent hopelessness. Pope Francis concludes the document, Spes non confundit or Hope does not disappoint, by saying, “The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require–in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation.” What is required of us is to be a ‘leaven of authentic hope, a harbinger of new heavens and a new earth’ (cf. 2 Peter 3:13) where every tear will be wiped away, and God will be all in all!”