The 2025 Jubilee Year ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ is now underway.
The Jubilee Year began with the opening of the Holy Door in St Peter’s Basilica in Rome, on Christmas Eve Tuesday and runs to the Feast of Epiphany 2026.
The Jubilee Year in the Diocese of Leeds began with Bishop Marcus celebrating Mass in the Cathedral at 11am on Sunday 29 December 2024.
The theme the Holy Father has chosen for this year of special graces is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ and he invites the whole People of God – clergy and laity – to celebrate God’s Gift of Grace through their expressions of Deep Faith, Lively Hope and Active Charity.
Since Pope Boniface VIII instituted the first Jubilee on 22 February 1300, the Catholic Church has declared these Holy Years to be special times of joy, celebration, forgiveness and reconciliation: with one another, with all of creation and with God. In order to prepare for the Jubilee, a Year of Prayer and Preparation will begin in Advent 2023, with special focus on the Lord’s Prayer, taught to us by Our Lord Jesus Christ Himself.
The Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly is from 30 May 2025 – 1 June 2025.
The official Jubilee website is here and the Jubilee section of the Diocese of Leeds website is here. In both cases, there is more information and resources.
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.