As the Universal Church marks Jubilee 2025, it is a time of spiritual reconciliation and renewal for the faithful, striving to be “Pilgrims of Hope.” While the origin of a jubilee can be found in the Jewish faith, the first Christian Jubilee, which was instituted by Pope Boniface VIII, was celebrated in the year 1300. The number of years between Jubilees varied following the first, but since 1470, the Church has marked a Jubilee Year every 25 years. With the last ordinary Jubilee being that of Pope St. John Paul II’s Great Jubilee 2000, Pope Francis on Ascension Thursday, May 13, 2024, announced Jubilee 2025 in the Papal Bull of Indiction Spes non Confundit (Hope Does Not Disappoint).
One aspect of the Holy Year is pilgrimage, which by its very nature is an “experience of conversion.” Spiritually, pilgrimage represents the Christian life as a journey towards a deeper relationship with Christ, conforming one’s life to the holiness of Christ’s. To help the faithful of the diocese experience this conversion, Bishop Raica has designated 11 pilgrimage sites within the Diocese of Birmingham.
The Chapel of Holy Wisdom at St. Francis is one of these pilgrimage sites!
We invite you to come pray with us for the graces of this Jubilee year.