Daily Tribune
Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica in the Vatican to mark the start of the Catholic Jubilee Year, on December 24, 2024. Pope Francis marks Christmas Eve with a special ceremony launching Jubilee 2025, a year of Catholic celebrations set to draw more than 30 million pilgrims to Rome. Over the next 12 months, pilgrims will pass through the large and imposing bronze door, which is normally closed, by tradition benefiting from a "plenary indulgence", a type of forgiveness for their sins.
Alberto PIZZOLI / POOL / AFP
The Catholic Church ushered in the 2025 Jubilee Year with the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City last 24 December 2024.
Pope Francis presided over a Mass on Christmas Eve, stressing the theme of hope during the Jubilee Year.
“This is the night when the door of hope has opened wide on the world; this is the night when God says to each one: there is hope for you too,” the Pope said.
He called on Christians to be active bearers of hope “in different situations of life.”
“Christian hope is not the happy ending of a movie to be passively awaited,” he said. “It is the Lord’s promise to be welcomed here, now, in this suffering and groaning earth.”
The Jubilee Year will continue until 6 January 2026. Traditionally observed every 25 years, the Jubilee Year is a time for spiritual renewal and transformation.
