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Saint Mary's

RC Primary School

We live, learn and grow together with Jesus

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School Logo

Saint Mary's

RC Primary School

We live, learn and grow together with Jesus

Jubilee 2025- Pilgrims of Hope

The Year of the Jubilee

In 2025, the Church is celebrating a Jubilee Year. A Jubilee year happens every quarter century and is a ‘Holy Year’ and a time of renewal and a deepening of our relationship with God.

 

What is a Jubilee Year?

In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee or Holy Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation. 

How often is a Jubilee Year?

A Jubilee Year is celebrated by the Church every 25 years. This has been the case since 1470, when Pope Paul II changed it from every 50 years.

A Pope can also proclaim an Extraordinary Jubilee, like the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy which Pope Francis inaugurated in 2015. 

What is the theme of the Jubilee Year in 2025?

The theme is Pilgrims of Hope. Pope Francis has invited Catholics to renew our hope and discover a vision that can "restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone". We are also invited to rediscover a spirituality of God's creation in which we understand ourselves as "pilgrims on the earth" rather than masters of the world. 

 

When does the Jubilee Year start and finish?

The 2025 Jubilee Year begins on Christmas Eve 2024 and concludes on 6 January 2026.

What is the Biblical background for the Jubilee Year?

The word Jubilee comes from the Hebrew word yobel, which is a ram's horn. This wind instrument is blown to mark the start of a Jubilee Year in the Bible (Leviticus 25:9).

In the Bible the Jubilee Year occurred every 50 years and involved the cancelling of debts, a period of rest for people and the earth, and land being restored to the landless.

In the Gospel of Luke, Jesus makes clear his own mission is to bring Jubilee. In the synagogue at Nazareth he reads from the scroll of the prophet Isaiah, proclaiming the year of the Lord's favour:

The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, because he has anointed me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim the Lord's year of favour." (Luke 4:18-19)

After reading, Jesus announces: “Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing." Jesus shows us what God's Kingdom of justice, compassion and freedom looks like. He invites us join him in making it a reality. 

What does the Catholic Church say about debt and the Jubilee Year? 

We now face the most acute global debt crisis in history with 3.3 billion people living in countries that spend more on debt servicing than on health, education or climate measures. Despite facing significant poverty burdens, countries are having to make huge repayments on high-interest loans to wealthy banks, institutions and governments, leaving them unable to properly fund essential services.

An important part of the Jubilee tradition was the cancellation of debts, giving those who had become overwhelmed by unpayable debts a fresh start (Deuteronomy 15). Pope Francis has identified debt cancellation as a vital element of 2025 Jubilee celebrations saying: “More than a question of generosity, this is a matter of justice.”

CAFOD will be pressing the UK government for action to address the debt crisisthroughout 2025.

How are we at Saint Mary’s celebrating the Jubilee Year?

We will celebrate the jubilee year in a number of ways. We launched the start of the year on 24th January 2025 with every class having a Celebration of the Word in class. Our pupil GIFT Team also held a family worship for parents and carers to explain the jubilee year to them. 

 

Every class has a ‘jubilee door’ to their classroom on a theme of hope. You can see these here below:

 

There are various displays around school which include our small anchor which has been blessed by Bishop John. 

 

In November we will also receive the anchor which is journeying around our Diocese. 

 

Other events planned our a jubilee day in school, a celebration with our partner Catholic schools and a pilgrimage to one of the Jubilee Churches in our Diocese. 

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