Historically, Jubilee was a special time called forth by the Pope to call all people to a conversion or a change of heart.

Some images include “letting the land lay fallow- give the earth a rest so that it can be renewed”.

It is a time when debts are cancelled. This is when wealthy countries erase the debt of small, poor countries that would never be able to erase the debt owed by themselves. It is offering them freedom from debt. 

It is a time of liberty for people on the margins; the elderly, children, the vulnerable, the ill, those with disabilities and the hungry. 

It is a time for forgiveness and reconciliation so that all may be healed and know the mercy of God.

Pope Francis opened the Jubilee Year 2025 on December 24, 2024 and presented the theme, Pilgrims of Hope to celebrate the Jubilee Year. We, individually and communally, are to ponder and prioritize how we will be pilgrims of hope as we journey in these times of chaos, suffering, war and oppression. 

The Pope asks that we pray and be led by the Spirit to renew the earth and its peoples.