JUBILEE AND THE HOLY DOORS, Introduction

The Jubilee of Rome is a very special event for the Catholic Church and its faithful, celebrated every 25 years.

From December 24, 2024, to December 24, 2025, the entire year will be dedicated to reconciliation, forgiveness, and spiritual renewal, through a full calendar of events that you can consult on the official Jubilee website: www.iubilaeum2025.va

The central purpose of every Jubilee celebration is to allow pilgrims, coming to Rome from all over the world, to obtain the “plenary indulgence.”

You should know that the term "plenary" comes from the Latin "plenus," which means "full" or "complete." A plenary indulgence is thus the forgiveness of sins committed, which can be obtained by confessing and performing specific acts.

Did you know that the first Jubilee was proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII, in the distant year 1300, with the intent of strengthening the spirituality and sense of community among the faithful?

The pontiff established that the Jubilee would be celebrated every one-hundred years, inspired by the Sabbatical Year of Jewish tradition. The Old Testament indeed states that every fifty years should be celebrated as a year of rest and forgiveness.

The first Jubilee of 1300 was a huge success, and thousands of pilgrims came to Rome to participate. Given the event's great impact, in 1350, Pope Clement VI, decided to increase the frequency of the Jubilee to every fifty years, and later, it was established to take place every twenty-five years, to allow all the faithful to take part at least once in their lives.

But from 1933, marking 1900 years since the death and resurrection of Jesus, at the behest of Pope Pius XI, the Church decided that extraordinary Jubilees could also be proclaimed to celebrate particularly significant events.

One aspect unchanged over time, since the very first Jubilee, is that every time one is celebrated, millions of pilgrims travel to Rome to pray and visit the main places of worship linked to the event, namely the four papal basilicas: Saint Peter's, Saint John Lateran, Saint Paul Outside the Walls, and Saint Mary Major. To each of these basilicas, we have dedicated fascinating content that you can listen to, for a deeper understanding.

You should know that one of the most important acts to perform to fully experience the Jubilee is to cross the "Holy Doors" of these basilicas, entrances that are opened only on the occasion of this significant event. Crossing these doors symbolizes a journey towards divine grace and purification.

To conclude, if you too are among the pilgrims aspiring to obtain the plenary indulgence, here are the steps you need to take:

Confess and receive Holy Communion; pray according to the Pope's intentions; make a pilgrimage to Rome, visiting the four main basilicas and crossing their Holy Doors.

An interesting fact: Throughout the history of the Jubilees, the only one to be presided over while two popes were alive was the extraordinary Jubilee of 2015, with Pope Francis as pontiff and Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, who resigned in 2013.