As the 2025 Jubilee of Hope approaches, the EWTN Vatican Bureau hosted its Roman Nights event, bringing together voices from across the Catholic world to reflect on the rich meaning and spiritual depth of this sacred tradition.
Michael Warsaw, CEO of EWTN, opened the evening by underscoring the Jubilee’s spiritual importance and EWTN’s mission to share its message globally.
“It’s an important moment in the life of the Church,” Warsaw remarked, “one that doesn’t come very often and one that has, I think, the potential to bring profound blessings to the universal Church.”
The Road to Jubilee: A City Transformed
An estimated 35 million pilgrims are expected to flock to Rome for the Jubilee, which officially begins with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve 2024. This symbolic act invites Christians to journey from sin to grace through an extraordinary path of salvation.
Pope Francis has declared 2024 as a Year of Prayer to spiritually prepare the faithful for the event. Meanwhile, Rome itself is bustling with preparations. Rolando Streber, Official of the Dicastery for Evangelization, spoke about the city’s transformation:
“If the Jubilee is marked by the opening of a Holy Door, we’re right at the doorstep, so there’s a lot of work that has already been done. You see, looking around Rome, so many construction sites. And the work is progressing, the city is getting ready, along with us and all the pilgrims that will come here for what will be a great event with the theme, of course, being pilgrims of hope and an event full of hope.”
Historically, jubilees stem from the Old Testament tradition of freeing slaves, forgiving debts, and embracing mercy as outlined in the Book of Leviticus. The tradition was redefined in 1300 by Pope Boniface VIII, focusing on the forgiveness of sins and the liberation from temporal punishment due in purgatory.
A Timeless Invitation to Mercy
Anita Cadavid, Director of the Institute for Higher Studies on Woman at the Regina Apostolorum, highlighted the opportunity for spiritual renewal that jubilees offer:
“In this time of polarization and so on, it’s an opportunity to deepen our faith and to share our faith with others, not only discussing and having big, big moments of academic discussions but coming together and praying together. I think that for me that’s the most important thing and in that way, we open our hearts and our souls for the mercy of our Lord, that is the great opportunity of the Jubilee.”
After the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica is opened, Pope Francis will also open Holy Doors at the Lateran Basilica, St. Mary Major, and the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. Pilgrims passing through these doors or those in their home dioceses can receive a plenary indulgence, provided they meet the usual conditions: being free from sin, receiving the Eucharist, going to confession, and praying for the pope’s intentions.
A Global Teaching Opportunity
The Jubilee presents a unique occasion for Catholics worldwide to delve deeper into their faith. Francis X. Rocca, Senior Vatican Analyst for EWTN News, shared his perspective:
“I saw an article earlier this week in a very big American daily which I won’t name, but it was about the Jubilee and it said that the Jubilee is ‘a rare Catholic tradition when believers can have their sins forgiven.’ Which is, as we were saying, true as far as it goes. I think it’s a teaching opportunity because about some 30 million people are expected, right?”
The Jubilee aims to foster an understanding of the plenary indulgence and the concept of mercy. Streber elaborated:
“It’ll be a great opportunity to learn more about what it means to receive an indulgence. I think most of the focus is on receiving mercy because a jubilee is focused on receiving mercy, on really internalizing this repentance, but as a desire to start a new life, and the indulgence being a fresh start, kind of like when you go to confession, but a very powerful sign through the crossing of the Holy Door or visiting a holy site, whether in Rome or in other places in the world.”
Singers of Hope
Pope Francis, in his official document on the Jubilee, called on the faithful to “become singers of hope in a world marked by too much despair.” Streber emphasized this message:
“We’re in a time where we need hope, we need a light, we need ‘Good News.’ We need that. So that’s kind of the thought behind that and it’s meant to bring in each pilgrim to internalize this concept of being on a pilgrimage, coming to Rome, again, to encounter this hope that is ultimately in Christ.”
As Rome prepares for this monumental event, the Jubilee of Hope serves as a beacon, inviting pilgrims and the world to rediscover the transformative power of mercy and renewal.
Adapted by Jacob Stein
