This 2025 the Catholic Church will celebrate its well-known Jubilee, the holy year that the Pope has convened every 25 years since the year 1300. This great event marks a very relevant stage for the Church and Rome becomes a destination for millions of pilgrims from everyone.
Although the interval between Jubilees has been changing, for some time now this event has been celebrated every 25 years, the last being in the 2000s.
If you are interested in the entire origin and history of the Jubilee, you cannot miss today’s article!
What is the meaning of the Jubilee?
The definition of Jubilee 2025 For the Catholic Church it is the year of reconciliation, sacramental penance, forgiveness of sins and conversion. For this reason, it is also known as Holy Year and the Pope grants plenary indulgence for all those faithful who travel to Rome and, of course, carry out a series of religious practices.
Among these practices are: confessing, praying, taking communion, passing through the Holy Door and performing a work of mercy, penance or piety.
But what is the Holy Door? It is the door of a basilica that opens only during the Jubilee and has a very specific meaning. It is the symbol of the step that every Christian must make from sin to grace. Everything is related to Jesus’ words of “I am the door.”
Among the Holy Doors that can be crossed in Rome are those of Saint Peter’s Basilicas in the Vatican, Saint Mary Major, Saint John Lateran and Saint Paul Outside the Walls. They are the largest churches and the Pope opens their doors these Jubilee years.
What is the opening of the Holy Door during the Jubilee?
In history, until 1975, the holy doors, especially that of Saint Peter, were bricked up at the end of the Jubilee and reopened at the beginning of the next Jubilee. Immediately, the Pope hit that wall three times with his hammer and the rest was up to the bricklayers.
Since 2000, John Paul II He modified this rite and the wall was dismantled a few days before the opening of the Holy Door and the key was removed to open the door. In this case, the Pope symbolically pushes the door and it is understood as open for all the faithful.
The Jubilee ends with the closing of these Holy Doors. Hence the great importance of this symbol of the Jubilee!
History of the Jubilee
To finish, we are going to enter fully into the history of the Jubilee. As we have already mentioned in the text, the first Jubilee of the Catholic Church dates back to the year 1300, with the Pope Boniface VIII in front.
As far as is known, this is the first time that plenary indulgence was granted to all those pilgrims who visited the basilicas of Saint Paul Outside the Walls and Saint Peter 30 times (and 15 times for non-Romans).
This first Jubilee is remembered by Dante in the Divine Comedy, which describes an enormous passage of pilgrims through the city, crossing the bridge in front of the Castle of Sant Angelo.
The origin of this celebration comes from Jewish tradition, since they decreed a year of rest for the lands in order to make them more fertile. In addition, confiscated lands were returned to smooth out inequalities and slaves were freed.
In those times, it was called “jobel” and, from there, the word Jubilee was born. “Jobel” was neither more nor less the male of the goat, whose horn was blown to begin this year of rest.
Regarding the first Jubilee, in the year 1300, it came at a time when Rome was a very fervent city thanks to the multitude of religious schools established. It was a worthy competitor to Venice and Florence, which were at the artistic and intellectual top!
At that time, pilgrims, like Dante, arrived from the north and entered Rome along the Via Francigena to reach Monte Mario to admire the city of Rome (the eternal city for many of them).
Others arrived by sea, crossing the Tiber with smaller boats and landing near Porta Portese.
Without a doubt, the city was full of religious places for these faithful to visit. We’ll tell you what some of them were!
It covers S. Gregorio al Celio, on the Celian hill, the Church of Navicella S. Maria in Domnica, the Church of S. Stefano Rotondo, the Casa-Torre de los Conti, the Basílica de Cuatro Santos Coronados, S. Maria in Cosmèdin, in the barrio de la Greca, and S. Alessio, S. Saba and S. Sabina, on the hill of Aventine, as well as S. Giorgio al Velabro and Santa Maria in Aracoeli, located on the Capitoline Hill.
