Jubilee 2025 – what it is and how to participate

May 4, 2025

You may have heard the word ‘Jubilee’ mentioned recently. That’s because 2025 is a year that Pope Francis has declared a Jubilee Year. A Jubilee Year occurs once every 25 years in the Catholic Church, and it is a year dedicated to pilgrimage, thanksgiving and forgiveness. The theme for this Jubilee Year is ‘Pilgrims of Hope.’ All around the world, Catholics are engaging in events, celebrations and pilgrimages to mark this special year.

In our own Diocese of Broken Bay, there are many ways that you can get involved. 

Visit a Shrine

In the Diocese of Broken Bay there are three special pilgrimage sites in Manly, Chatswood and Gosford, known as Shrines. Throughout the Jubilee Year, Catholics and non-Catholics in the Diocese are encouraged to visit one or more of these Shrines. Each Shrine is associated with a particular saint (or future saint in the case of Blessed Carlo Acutis!) and a theme or prayer intention. 

• Shrine of Hope for Young People – Chatswood
  Located at Our Lady of Dolours Catholic Parish in Chatswood, this Shrine is dedicated to Blessed Carlo Acutis who will be canonised a saint later this year. Carlo will become the first saint of the 21st Century after passing away from Leukemia in 2006 at the age of 15 years old. He is remembered for his love of video games, friends, family and above all, the Eucharist. Carlo’s passion for his faith led many to the Catholic Church. Rajesh Mohur, who worked for the Acutis family as an au pair when Carlo was young became a Catholic because of Carlo’s witness. Mohur said that one of the things that most impressed him was the witness of Carlo’s love and concern for the poor — how he interacted with the homeless man who would sit at the entrance of the church and would bring tupperware dishes filled with food out to people living on the streets. 

Each Shrine contains a relic of the saint who is associated with the Shrine. First class relics are fragments from the human remains of the saint. A second class relic is a fragment of something that belonged to the saint during their life on earth, eg. a piece of one of their garments. The Shrine of Hope for Young People in Chatswood contains a relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis, in this case a strand of his hair. When pilgrims visit the Shrines, they are encouraged to pray before the relic, honour the memory of the saint and celebrate the extent to which they lived a life that signposted the love of Jesus.

• Shrine of Hope for Families – Gosford
  One of the three special pilgrimage sites for the 2025 Jubilee Year is the Shrine of St John Paul II in the Gosford Parish. During his life, St John Paul II was a hero of the family. He was convinced that the wellbeing of all of society was “intimately tied to the good of the family”, describing family as the “first and vital cell of society”.  For this reason, it seems fitting that the Shrine of Hope under the patronage of St John Paul II would have Families as its special intention and focus for the Jubilee Year. Every one of us is a part of a family – this Shrine of Hope is for everyone in the Diocese, young and old!

• Shrine of Hope for Priests and Vocations – Manly
  The third pilgrimage site for the 2025 Jubilee Year is at Manly Freshwater Parish and contains a relic of St John Vianney. St John Vianney was a French priest who Pope Benedict XVI described as “a true example of a pastor at the service of Christ’s flock.” St John Vianney is the patron saint of priests, and many priests look to him for inspiration and guidance.   Throughout the Jubilee Year, priests are encouraged to visit this shrine for prayer and renewal. It is also a place for all the people of Broken Bay to come and pray for their priests.  While this shrine holds a special focus on praying for priests and religious, it is a place of hope for everyone.   

Fill out a Jubilee Pilgrim Passport

Everyone across the Diocese is welcome to a Jubilee Pilgrim Passport, available at each parish. In much the same way as the famous Camino de Santiago pilgrimage has a passport that can be stamped along the way, when visiting the Cathedral and the three Shrines of Hope, you can have your Passport stamped as a memorial of your time there. A “complete” passport is one where you have visited the Cathedral and each of the Jubilee Shrines of Hope across the Diocese, and had your passport stamped at each. Upon completing your passport, you can receive the Jubilee Local Pilgrim of Hope Certificate, which together with your stamped Passport forms a momento of your participation in this Holy Year.

Read a book about hope

For those who wish to embark on a spiritual pilgrimage through reading and prayer during the Jubilee Year, here is a list of recommended books, essays, and encyclicals that explore the Jubilee theme of hope: 

• A Gift of Joy and Hope, Pope Francis 
• Trusting God in the Present, Fr Jacques Philippe 
• The Virtue of Hope: How Confidence in God Can Lead You to Heaven, Fr. Philip Bochanski  
• Catholic Stories of Faith and Hope: How God brings good out of suffering, Steven R. Hemler 
• Hope: An Invitation, Sr. Josephine Garrett CSFN

Engage in acts of mercy and forgiveness

Follow the Jubilee tradition by engaging in works of mercy, such as feeding the hungry, visiting the sick, and offering comfort to those in need. Take the opportunity to offer mercy, forgiveness, and reconciliation to those who have wronged you, and extend yourself by asking forgiveness of those whom you have wronged.

Partake in a pilgrimage to Rome

The Broken Bay Diocese have an exciting opportunity to anyone who feels called to a partaking in a pilgrimage to Rome. The Diocese of Broken Bay have partnered with Harvest Journeys to plan a pilgrimage to Rome from 1st October 2025 to 10th October 2025, coinciding with celebrations in Rome for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life. More information will be made available soon.  The Jubilee Year is an excellent opportunity to carve out time for quiet reflection, to make peace with those who have wronged you, and to look for opportunities to give to those less fortunate. The Diocese of Broken Bay has published a Prayer and Resource Journal with helpful resources, prayers, reflection aids and key dates for the Jubilee Year. The Diocesan Jubilee website is another great resource with more information about Jubilee initiatives in the Diocese.  

However you choose to partake in the Jubilee Year, may it be a time of reflection, renewal and hope.