Announcing the Jubilee of Hope 2025

December 13, 2024

Pope Francis has announced an ordinary Jubilee year which will begin on the Feast of the Holy Family, Sunday December 29, 2024, and run for an entire year.

Ordinary Jubilees happen every 25 years. The Jubilee year 2025 will center on the theme of hope. Each Jubilee year, the Church establishes certain practices the faithful can undertake which grant special graces, called Indulgences.

Among the graces established for the Jubilee of Hope 2025 are pilgrimages. The local Diocesan Bishop is encouraged to identify churches in his Diocese which can serve as places of pilgrimage. Cathedrals and Minor Basilicas are especially encouraged, but so are other churches as well. Considering the needs of the Diocese and our diverse community, Bishop Joensen has identified the following Churches as places of pilgrimage for the Jubilee year: The Cathedral of St. Ambrose in Des Moines; The Basilica of St. John in Des Moines; the parish church of Christ the King in Des Moines; the parish church of SS Peter & Paul in Atlantic; and the parish church of Corpus Christi in Council Bluffs.

Some may recall from the previous two Jubilee years that the churches of pilgrimage had holy doors for the faithful to pass through. This year, Pope Francis is inviting us to take a more active journey of faith. When visiting one of the churches of pilgrimage, everyone is invited to attend Mass, or to attend another liturgy or devotional such as: Eucharistic Exposition; a celebration of the Word of God; pray the Liturgy of the Hours; pray the Stations of the Cross; pray the Rosary; or, spend some time in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament before the tabernacle. Everyone is especially invited to make a good confession, one of the greatest signs and acts of hope our faith gives us. 

Beginning in early January, each of the churches of pilgrimage will have “passport” booklets available. Everyone is invited to take a passport booklet and then to stamp it with a special Jubilee passport stamp that will be available at any of the churches of pilgrimage that you visit. If you visit all 5 Jubilee churches, please send a picture of your passport booklet to the Diocese. We will send you a free Jubilee Holy Card.

Beyond pilgrimages, we are all invited to consider how we might grow in the virtue of hope during the Jubilee year. Everyone is encouraged to make a good confession. The faithful may also obtain the Jubilee Indulgences if they participate in opportunities for faith formation, perform the corporal works of mercy (to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick, visit the imprisoned, and bury the dead), perform the spiritual works of mercy (to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offences, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead) or visit the lonely or needy.