The Jubilee year the Church is preparing will officially begin in December 2024 with the opening of the Holy Door, but we are already in the spirit of it, and on May 9, a press conference presenting the 2025 Jubilee was held in the Holy See press room, presided over by Archbishop Rino Fisichella.
This is the 27th Jubilee in history and the second of Pope Francis’s pontificate; its guiding theme will be the motto: “Pilgrims of hope”.
During the press conference, the Jubilee Hymn was announced and played for the journalists in attendance, with lyrics by theologian Pierangelo Sequeri and music by maestro Francesco Meneghello. The composer was selected from among 270 contestants from 38 countries who submitted their proposals.
LISTEN TO THE JUBILEE HYMN
Graham Bell, Undersecretary of the Dicastery for Evangelization, outlined the work already begun by the Dicastery through four organizing commissions (pastoral, cultural, communications, and ecumenical), a technical committee, and 35 subcommissions, with the involvement of delegates from Italian dioceses and representatives of international episcopal conferences.
In organizing this event, which will bring between 32 and 40 million pilgrims to Rome, there are many aspects to consider, and they are constantly evolving: from infrastructure to security, from healthcare to transport and volunteering, and from spiritual events to cultural and artistic ones. Archbishop Fisichella emphasized that these events will also be organized in prisons and hospitals, places where a sign of hope is truly vital.
Since May 9, the official website iubilaeum2025.va, full of news and information in 9 languages, and the iubilaeum2025 app for pilgrims, available for Android and IOS, have been active. From next autumn, the Jubilee’s social media profiles will also be active.
On Thursday, June 1, the “Pilgrims’ Centre - Info Point for the Jubilee” will be inaugurated at Via della Conciliazione 7, where it will be possible to request information about taking part, becoming a volunteer, or organizing your pilgrimage in 2025.
During the press conference, Archbishop Fisichella highlighted the importance of the publications being prepared for the Jubilee: “Last December, the Dicastery published the ‘Council Notebooks’ (in collaboration with Shalom Publishing, ed.). A series of 34 booklets on the contents of Dei Verbum, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Lumen gentium, Gaudium et Spes, designed as very user-friendly resources precisely to allow the texts to reach more people in the Christian community.”
So let us joyfully and faithfully set out along the journey that will lead us to experience the 2025 Jubilee, becoming pilgrims of hope from this very moment!
