Celebrate the Jubilee
“We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us, and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire…”
– Pope Francis
The Jubilee is a special year of grace, in which the Catholic Church offers the faithful the possibility of asking for a plenary indulgence, the identifying sign of the Jubilee Year, as handed down since the first Jubilee of the year 1300. The indulgence that “intends to express the fullness of God’s forgiveness which knows no bounds,” through the Sacrament of Penance and signs of charity and hope, for the remission of sins for themselves or for deceased relatives.
The Jubilee Year will begin with the opening of the Holy Door of St Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve, 2024. The Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica is opened by the Pope only at the beginning of a Jubilee Year. It is usually the first door to be opened to indicate the beginning of the Holy Year. This first evidence of the rite happening in St Peter’s was in the year 1500 during the papacy of Alexander VI.
The Holy Father’s expressed desire to personally open a Holy Door in a prison “to offer prisoners a concrete sign of closeness.” On December 26, 2024, the feast of St. Stephen, Pope Francis will open a Holy Door in the Roman prison of Rebibbia, marking a historic moment in the history of Jubilee years. It will be the first time that – in addition to the Holy Doors opened in the four Roman Papal Basilicas – one will also be opened in a penal institution too.
On December 29th, the Pope will open the Holy Door of the Archbasilica of St John Lateran, the Cathedral of Rome. On the same day, every Cathedral and co-Cathedral throughout the world will have Mass celebrated by the local Bishop to mark the opening of the Jubilee. Bishop Mark Rivituso will celebrate Mass as the solemn opening of the Jubilee at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis on December 29, 2024, at 10:00 am.
On the Solemnity of Mary the Mother of God, January 1, 2025, Pope Francis will open the Holy Door for the Basilica of St Mary Major, with the Holy Door for the Basilica of St Paul’s Outside the Walls being opened on January 5th. These doors will remain open throughout the Jubilee year.
“In the course of the year,” Pope Francis had written, “every effort should be made to enable the People of God to participate fully in its proclamation of hope in God’s grace and in the signs that attest to their efficacy.”
The faithful, Pilgrims of Hope, will be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence granted by the Holy Father if they undertake a pious pilgrimage to any sacred Jubilee site:
- by participation in Holy Mass or another liturgical service such as Morning or Evening Prayer or acts of piety such as Stations of the Cross, praying the Rosary, or visits to the Blessed Sacrament;
- and there, for a suitable period of time, engage in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith from Mass, and a prayer to the Blessed Virgin Mary.
In the course of the Jubilee Year, the faithful are invited to make pious pilgrimages to one or more local churches that have been designated by Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski as local sacred Jubilee sites.
For the faithful who cannot participate in various solemn celebrations, pilgrimages and pious visits for serious reasons, can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if united in spirit with the faithful taking part in person, they recite the Our Father, the Procession of Faith, and other prayers in conformity with the objectives of the Holy Year, in their homes or wherever they are confined offering up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives.
In a special way “during the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.” The faithful will be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if, with a devout spirit they participate in certain works of mercy and penance:
- if the faithful visit, for an appropriate amount of time, their brothers and sisters who are in need or in difficulty (the sick, prisoners, lonely elderly, disabled…), in a sense making a pilgrimage to Christ present in them according to the usual conditions;
- through initiatives that put into practice, in a concrete and generous way, the spirit of penance, the penitential nature of Friday can be rediscovered.
Despite the rule that only one plenary indulgence can be obtained per day, the faithful who have carried out an act of charity on behalf of the souls in Purgatory, if they receive Holy Communion a second time that day, can obtain the plenary indulgence twice on the same day, applicable only to the deceased (this must take place within a Eucharistic celebration).
From the Catechism of the Catholic Church: “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints. An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin. The faithful can gain indulgences for themselves or apply them to the dead.” (CCC #1471)
The Jubilee Indulgence is a plenary indulgence. The Church’s usual conditions for gaining an indulgence apply in connection with the Jubilee Indulgence.
The full list of conditions to receive the Jubilee Plenary Indulgence are published in the “Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025.” Please click here to read the decree.
In addition to the acts of charity, penance, and pilgrimage that are particular to the Jubilee Indulgence, the Church prescribes “usual” conditions:
- Be in a state of grace and have the interior disposition of complete detachment from sin
- Sacramental Confession
- Reception of Holy Communion
- Prayer for the Pope’s intentions
Celebrating the Jubilee in the Archdiocese of St. Louis
As part of the Jubilee, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski designated nine sacred Jubilee sites where the faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis may make a pilgrimage to obtain the grace of the Jubilee Indulgence.
Northern Vicariate
- Cathedral Basilica of St. Louis
- Basilica of St. Louis, King of France
- Holy Spirit Adoration Sisters at Mount Grace Convent
- Carmel of Saint Joseph at the Chapel of the Most Precious Blood
Southern Vicariate
- St. Mary’s of the Barrens National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal
- Monastery of Saint Clare of the Immaculate Conception
Western Vicariate
- Passionist Nuns of St. Louis
- Immaculate Heart of Mary Catholic Church – New Melle
- Immaculate Conception Catholic Church – Union
The full list of conditions to receive the Jubilee Plenary Indulgence are published in the “Decree on the Granting of Indulgence during the Ordinary Jubilee Year 2025.” Please click here to read the decree.