Jubilee Year 2025

St. Francis of Assisi, Pilgrimage Site for the Archdiocese of Denver

“Hope in the Lord! Hold firm, take heart and hope in the Lord!” (Ps. 27:14)

What is a Jubilee Year?

The Universal Church’s Jubilee Year 2025 began in Rome on December 24, 2024 with the theme of “Pilgrims of Hope”. A Jubilee Year is a special time designated to encourage the faithful to a renewed attention to their spiritual life, undertaking pilgrimages, seeking repentance for our sins, extending forgiveness to others, and a sharing a renewed sense of hope.

History

According to the book of Leviticus, “for the Israelites, the year of Jubilee was in any case preeminently a time of joy, the year of remission or universal pardon,” that included the freeing of slaves and the forgiveness of debts. (Catholic Answers). Pope Boniface VIII instituted the first Christian Jubilee in 1300, and since then the Church has designated each new Jubilee as a special year of grace and forgiveness, offering the faithful an opportunity to obtain a plenary indulgence.

Archdiocese of Denver

Locally, the Year of Jubilee began on Dec. 29, 2024 with a Mass celebrated at the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception by Bishop Jorge Rodríguez. On December 13, 2024, Archbishop Aquila issued a decree according to which, in addition to the Cathedral Basilica of the Immaculate Conception, our parish and 7 other sites “are designated as pilgrimage sites for the Ordinary Jubilee year 2025...The faithful may obtain the plenary indulgences for the Jubilee Year 2025 by visiting these sites in the spirit of pilgrimage.” (Official Decree)

Indulgenges

Below is a summary of the different ways to obtain the Jubilee indulgence as specified by the decree from the Apostolic Penitentiary, and as detailed by the Liturgy Office of the Archdiocese of Denver:

  • Pilgrimages: An indulgence may be received by those who travel to any sacred Jubilee site in the spirit of pilgrimage, and participate in a Mass, a Liturgy of the Word, one of the major hours from the Liturgy of the Hours (Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, or Evening Prayer), devotional prayers such as the Way of the Cross, the Rosary, or a penance service that ends with sacramental confession. (See our schedule)

  • Pious Visits: In addition to pilgrimages, the Jubilee indulgence may also be obtained by piously visiting a Jubilee site and engaging in Eucharistic adoration and meditation for a suitable period of time, concluding with an Our Father, a Profession of Faith, and invocations to Mary. It should be noted that adoration can either be done in the context of Eucharistic Exposition with a monstrance, but adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle also suffices for the indulgence.

  • Duration: The plenary indulgence will be available to the faithful from the local opening of the Jubilee Year on December 29th, 2024 until the local closing of the Jubilee Year on December 24, 2025.

Other Opportunities for Jubilee Indulgences

  • Works of Mercy and Penance: the performance of 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) and spiritual works of mercy (to counsel the doubtful, instruct the ignorant, admonish sinners, comfort the afflicted, forgive offenses, bear patiently those who do us ill, and pray for the living and the dead) are encouraged. Additionally, while a plenary indulgence may normally be obtained only once a day, during the Jubilee year a second plenary indulgence can be received in a day if the faithful carry out an act of charity on behalf of the souls in Purgatory and receive Holy Communion a second time in the context of Mass on that same day.

  • Participating in Formational Events: such as spiritual exercises, or formation on the documents on Vatican II or the Catechism of the Catholic Church. To learn more, please email Michael Lynch: michael@sfassisi.org

  • Penitential Practices: such as abstaining at least for one day of the week from futile distractions (e.g. the use of the media and/or social networks), from superfluous consumption, donating a proportionate sum of money to the poor or supporting works of a religious or social nature, especially in support of the defense and protection of life in all its phases, supporting the quality of life of marginalized peoples (abandoned children, young people in difficulty, the needy or lonely elderly people, or migrants). Another penitential practice can also be to dedicate a portion of one’s free time to voluntary activities that are of service to the community.

General Norms on a Plenary Indulgence

In order to obtain a plenary indulgence, in addition to the work done to obtain the indulgence, the person must be in a state of grace and fulfill the following conditions (Manual of Indulgences, Norm 20):

  • Detachment from all sin, even venial

  • Sacramental confession

  • Reception of Holy Communion

  • Prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father

These three conditions of sacramental confession, reception of Holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father can be fulfilled up to 20 days before or after performing the works to gain the indulgence, but it is recommended that Communion and the prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father take place on the same day that the work is completed.

A single sacramental confession is sufficient for multiple plenary indulgences, but a separate holy Communion and a separate prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father are required for each plenary indulgence. If only some of the conditions are fulfilled, the indulgence is only a partial one.

A plenary indulgence may be applied to oneself or to a soul in Purgatory. Usually, only one plenary indulgence may be obtained in a day, but for the Jubilee year, a second plenary indulgence a day may be obtained and applied to a soul in Purgatory if an act of charity has been carried out on behalf of said souls. To obtain this second indulgence, the faithful must receive Holy Communion twice on the same day the two acts are done to obtain the indulgences.

Thank you for visiting us!

The Lord wants to pour the gift of new life on our parishioners and visitors. Grace awaits us! We pray to have open, trusting, and repentant hearts, to receive His mercy and love, rejoice in His saving work, and share the good news with others.

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