In the document proclaiming 2025 as a Jubilee Year of Hope, Pope Francis says:  “Surely we need to “abound in hope” (cf. Rom 15:13), so that we may bear credible and attractive witness to the faith and love that dwell in our hearts; that our faith may be joyful and our charity enthusiastic; and that each of us may be able to offer a smile, a small gesture of friendship, a kind look, a ready ear, a good deed, in the knowledge that, in the Spirit of Jesus, these can become, for those who receive them, rich seeds of hope.

What Is a Jubilee Year?  A ‘Jubilee Year’ is traditionally proclaimed by the Universal Church every 25 years. It is a particular year set aside to encourage the faithful to embark on pilgrimages, to repent of their sins and forgive the sins of others, and to renew a focus on the spiritual life. This 2025 Jubilee will be centred on the theme “Pilgrims of Hope” and runs to January 6, 2026.

The Jubilee Logo (above right) shows four stylized figures, representing all of humanity, coming from the four corners of the earth. They embrace each other to indicate the solidarity and fraternity which should unite all peoples. There are the rough waves under the figures, symbolising the fact that life’s pilgrimage does not always go smoothly in calm waters.  The lower part of the cross which has been elongated and turned into the shape of an anchor which is let down into the waves. The anchor is well known as a symbol of hope.  The cross in the logo bends down towards humanity, not leaving human beings alone, but stretching out to them to offer the certainty of its presence and the security of hope.