Jubilee 2025: Archbishop Rodi designates pilgrimage sites

By Rob Herbst
The Catholic Week
As many as 35 million visitors are expected in Rome in 2025. Many of them will be pilgrims for the jubilee, a holy year the church celebrates every quarter-century that begins on Dec. 24. While numerous events are planned in Rome and at the Vatican to mark the Jubilee 2025, this Holy Year is for the whole Church and there are ways to celebrate without leaving the Archdiocese of Mobile.
Like in other U.S. dioceses, Archbishop Thomas J. Rodi has designated pilgrimage sites within the archdiocese at which visitors may receive a plenary indulgence. A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.
Pilgrimage sites include: Cathedral-Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, Mobile; Carmelite Monastery, Mobile; Holy Redeemer Parish, Eufaula; Our Lady Queen of Peace Parish, Selma; St. Bede the Venerable Parish, Montgomery; St. Jude Monastery, Marbury; St. Margaret of Scotland Parish, Foley; St. Martin of Tours Parish, Troy; and Visitation Monastery, Mobile.
Those making a pilgrimage to one of the above may obtain the Jubilee plenary indulgence if they “devoutly visit any Jubilee site and there, for a suitable period of time, engage in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to Mary, the Mother of God.”   
Visit mobarch.org/documents/2024/12/pilgrimage.pdf for more information on when pilgrimage sites are open. 
Other ways to celebrate.
1. Go to reconciliation.
The idea of a jubilee or holy year is rooted in the jubilees marked by the Israelites, who saw every 50th year as a special time for forgiveness and reconciliation with God and others. They would leave their fields fallow, replenishing the soil, allow those under slavery to regain their freedom, return land to its former owners, and forgive debts that could not be repaid. 
 
2. Read the jubilee document.
Issued in May, "Spes Non Confundit" is the papal bull of indiction Pope Francis promulgated for the 2025 Jubilee Year. With the Holy Year's theme being "Pilgrims of Hope," it includes a scriptural reflection on hope, as well as an explanation of the meaning of a jubilee year; ideas and encouragement for Christians living out the Holy Year; appeals for accompaniment, mercy and charity for various people in need; and some of the key events and anniversaries the Holy Year will observe.
 
3. Pray the Jubilee prayer.
Pope Francis has issued a special Jubilee prayer. At 139 words in English, the prayer is easily incorporated into the daily prayers of an individual or a family.  It can be found by searching "Jubilee Prayer" at usccb.org.
 
4. Perform works of mercy.
In "Spes Non Confundit," Pope Francis asks Catholics "to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind." He specifically mentions prisoners, a group he has highlighted by designating a Jubilee Holy Door at Rome's Rebibbia Prison.
 
5. Review the resources.
The Vatican and USCCB and many dioceses have online resources with information about the church's global and local celebrations of the Jubilee. They include information about the Jewish roots of jubilee years, their history in the Catholic Church, and how to spiritually prepare to receive the Jubilee Indulgence. The Vatican website (iubilaeum2025.va) includes a video of a choir performing "Pilgrims of Hope," the Jubilee's official hymn. 
 
6. Practice hope
In "Spes Non Confundit," Pope Francis underscores that the hope the Jubilee offers is for the universal church. "In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring," he wrote. 
— Our Sunday Visitor’s Maria Wiering contributed to this report.