Jubilee 2025

“Jubilee” is the name of a particular year: it seems to derive from the instrument used to indicate its beginning; it is the  yobel , the ram’s horn, whose sound announces the Day of Atonement ( Yom Kippur ). This feast recurs every year, but takes on a particular meaning when it coincides with the beginning of the jubilee year. We find an initial idea of ​​it in the Bible: it was to be convened every 50 years, since it was the ‘extra’ year, to be lived every seven weeks of years (see Lev 25,8-13). Even if difficult to achieve, it was proposed as the occasion in which to re-establish the correct relationship with God, between people and with creation, and it involved the remission of debts, the restitution of alienated lands and the rest of the earth.

Quoting the prophet Isaiah, the Gospel according to Luke also describes Jesus’ mission in this way: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor” (Lk 4:18-19; cf. Is 61:1-2). These words of Jesus also became actions of liberation and conversion in the daily life of his encounters and relationships.

In 1300, Boniface VIII proclaimed the first Jubilee, also called the “Holy Year”, because it is a time in which we experience that the holiness of God transforms us. The frequency has changed over time: at the beginning it was every 100 years; it was reduced to 50 years in 1343 by Clement VI and to 25 in 1470 by Paul II. There are also “extraordinary” moments: for example, in 1933 Pius XI wanted to remember the anniversary of the Redemption and in 2015 Pope Francis proclaimed the Year of Mercy. The way of celebrating this year has also been different: at the beginning it coincided with the visit to the Roman Basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul, then with the pilgrimage, later other signs were added, such as that of the Holy Door. By participating in the Holy Year, one experiences plenary indulgence.