Jubilee Year 2025

What is a Jubilee Year?

A Jubilee Year is celebrated by the Church every 25 years.  This Jubilee Year begins on Christmas Eve 2024 and concludes on 6 January 2026.

In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee or Holy Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation.

Theme: “Pilgrims of Hope”

Pope Francis has invited Catholics to renew our hope and discover a vision that can “restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone.”

“Pilgrimage is of course a fundamental element of every Jubilee event. Setting out on a journey is traditionally associated with our human quest for meaning in life.” (Pope Francis)

Diocesan Jubilee Calendar of Events

The Jubilee Year is an opportunity to respond to God’s call to turn to him and to pursue justice. Throughout the Jubilee Year and in locations across the diocese and in parishes there will be a wide range of activities and events for all ages across connected with specific areas of Jubilee.

December 2024

January

February

March

April

  • Jubilee of Teenagers: REvive TY Hike
  • Canonisation of Blessed Carlo Acutis in Rome on 27th April

May

  • Jubilee of Teenagers: Pope John Paul II Pilgrimage to Medjugorje: 3rd – 10th May
  • Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly: Family Day at Holy Family Mission – 18th May
  • Outdoor 24 Hour Adoration 
  • Rosary Rally in Clonmel Plaza

 June

July

  • St Declan’s Feast: Pilgrim of Hope Walk at Mount Melleray: Saturday 26th July

August

  • Jubilee of Youth:Frassati Young Adult Camino (St Declan’s Way) – in association with the Archdiocese of Cashel & Emily. July 31st – August 4th to tie in with Canonisation of Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati in Rome

September

  • Jubilee of Consolation: Series of Talks

October

  • Jubilee of the World of Education:
  • Jubilee of Marian Spirituality: 
  • Jubilee of Consecrated life: 

November

December

January

  • Closing of Jubilee Year in Diocese: 4th January 

 

 

 

 

Embracing Hope in the Jubilee Year: Pastoral Letter from Bishop Cullinan
Embracing Hope in the Jubilee Year
A Pastoral Letter for 2025 
 
” We have just begun the New Year. 2025 has been designated by Our Holy Father Pope Francis as a Jubilee Year of Hope. How blessed we are to have the Holy Father put before us the virtue of hope. Everyone I have spoken to about this have thought that it is something so needed right now. Many people are rightly worried about where the world is going and can be tempted to lose hope.
 
Human beings are by nature meaning- seeking creatures. We want to know who we are and where we are heading. Today there is a huge pressure on young and not so young people to invent their own identity and meaning. Social media is full of people trying desperately to discover who they are and what life is about. I think that it is no coincidence that the epic sagas like Star Wars, Game of Thrones, Harry Potter, Lord of the Rings, and so many other such attempts to tell us about the bigger picture of our human story are so popular. But these sagas are nothing in comparison to the story of the Gospel. The Christian story is the only way of explaining who created us, where we come from, what we are made of, about the struggle between good and evil, about why we fall and how we can get back up again and how to navigate our way through life towards a definite destination which is communion with God. Jesus Christ alone tells us the true story of humanity.
 
So if you are worried about where the world going and if you are seeking meaning then you are just like St. Peter who once asked Jesus, “To whom shall we go?” But Peter answers his own question saying, “Lord, You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus is why we have hope. Christian hope is not mere optimism or feeling good about the future. It is a virtue built on the solid foundation of God’s strength, on God’s mercy, faithfulness and love. The Jubilee Year of Hope is a wonderful opportunity to concentrate on the hope Christ holds out to all and to celebrate our faith and be encouraged to pass it on to others. We are commanded by Jesus Himself to go and make disciples.
 
So the year ahead is full of hope- the hope which does not disappoint. I am looking forward to visiting all the Pastoral Areas early in the year to see how together we can make the most of the year, many events are planned but your own ideas and input is essential. May the Jubilee Year of Hope bring us many graces and blessings and may we use them to the full.
 
Sincerely,
+Bishop Phonsie
The Jubilee Logo

The logo shows four figures stylised to indicate humanity coming from the four corners of the earth. They are embracing each other to indicate the solidarity and brotherhood which joins the peoples. The figure at the head is holding onto the cross. It is not only the sign of the faith which embraces, but also of the hope which can never be abandoned because we are always in need of hope, especially in moments of great need. It is helpful to observe the rough waves underneath; this indicates that life’s pilgrimage does not always move in calm waters. Life’s circumstances and the events of the world often demand a greater call to hope and because of this we see that the lower part of the cross has been turned into an anchor which stands out in the wave. As is well known, the anchor has often been used as a metaphor of hope and as a matter of fact, the anchor of hope is the name used in maritime jargon as the name given to the reserve anchor used by vessels involved in emergency manoeuvres to stabilise the boat during storms. Do not ignore the fact that the image demonstrates that the pilgrim’s journey is not individual, but communal and marked by a growing vitality leading one always closer to the cross, which is itself by no means static, but also dynamic. It turns towards humanity, not leaving it alone but going out and meeting it to offer it the certainty of its presence and the sureness of hope. Finally, the motto of the 2025 Jubilee Year: Pelegrinantes in Spem (Pilgrims in hope), is very visible in green.

https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/notizie/comunicati/2022/logo-giubileo-2025.html

The Jubilee Prayer

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

What and where is the "Holy Door"?

From a symbolic viewpoint, the Holy Door takes on a special significance: it is the most powerful sign of the Jubilee, since the ultimate aim of the pilgrim is to pass through it. The opening of the door by the Pope constitutes the official beginning of the Holy Year. Originally, there was only one door, at the Basilica of St. John Lateran, which is the cathedral of the Bishop of Rome. Later, to allow as many pilgrims as possible to take part in the Jubilee experience, the other Roman Basilicas also opened their own holy doors.

In crossing the threshold of the Holy Door, the pilgrim is reminded of the passage from chapter 10 of St John’s gospel: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Passing through the Holy Door expresses the decision to follow and be guided by Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd. The door is a passageway that ushers the pilgrim into the interior of a church. For the Christian community, a church is not only a sacred space, to be approached with respect, with appropriate behavior and dress code, but it is a symbol of the communion that binds every believer to Christ: it is a place of encounter and dialogue, of reconciliation and peace which awaits every pilgrim, the Church is essentially the place of the  community of the faithful.

In Rome, this experience takes on a special significance because of the special links between the Eternal City and Saints Peter and Paul, the apostles who founded the Christian community in Rome and whose teachings and example are models for the universal Church. The tombs of Saints Peter and Paul are located in Rome, they were martyred here; and together with the catacombs, these sacred sites are places of continuous spiritual inspiration.

https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en/giubileo-2025/segni-del-giubileo/porta-santa.html

 

Where will Holy Doors be opened?

Holy Doors will be opened by Pope Francis in:

  • St Peter’s Basilica (Dec 24th)
  • Saint John Lateran (Dec 29th)
  • Saint Mary Major (Jan 1st)
  • Saint Paul Outside-the-Walls (Jan 5th)
  • Rome’s Rebibbia Prison (Dec 26th).
What is the Biblical background for a Jubilee Year?

“Jubilee” is the name given to a particular year; the name coming from the instrument used to mark its launch. In this case, the instrument in question is the yobel, the ram’s horn. In the Bible the Jubilee Year occurred every 50 years and involved the cancelling of debts, a period of rest for people and the earth, and land being restored to the landless.

In the Gospel of Luke, Chapter 4:14ff , Jesus makes clear his own mission is to bring Jubilee. In the synagogue at Nazareth he reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming the year of the Lord’s favour:

The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.” (Luke 4:18-19)

After reading, Jesus announces: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus shows us what God’s Kingdom of justice, compassion and freedom looks like. He invites us to join him in making it a reality.

Official Hymn for the Jubilee

Towards the Jubilee Video

What is the Papal Bull of Indiction?

The term ‘bull’ originates from the lead seal, known as bulla in Latin. It refers to a Papal decree which outlines the purpose and spirit of the Holy Year.

 What does the Papal Bull for the 2025 Jubilee Year tell us?

The Bull is titled “Spes non confundit” (Hope does not disappoint) and urges us to look for signs of hope in the world around us and work for peace and justice. In the document Pope Francis writes: “If we really wish to prepare a path to peace in our world, let us commit ourselves to remedying the remote causes of injustice, settling unjust and unpayable debts, and feeding the hungry.” (#16)

Where can I find more information?