In his tone-setting document for the upcoming Jubilee of Hope, Pope Francis explores the meaning of the virtue and issued several appeals he said would help sow greater hope in the world, including amnesty for prisoners and debt forgiveness for developing nations. Source: Crux.
He also made several appeals to show hope to populations he said are in the greatest need of it and indicated that ecumenism will be a major theme during the upcoming jubilee year.
The official Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee of Hope, titled, Spes non confundit, or “Hope does not disappoint,” was presented during an official ceremony inside St Peter’s Basilica yesterday, during which excerpts of the bull were read aloud to Pope Francis.
“Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring,” and the insecurities, anxieties and doubts that can come with the unknown, he said.
“For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. God’s word helps us find reasons for that hope,” he said.
Francis also asked that during the jubilee, “signs of hope” be given to those most in need, specifically those living amid war and violent conflict.
Pope Francis also proposed that for the jubilee, governments around the world would “undertake initiatives aimed at restoring hope” by granting forms of amnesty or pardon for prisoners and investing in rehabilitation programs in detention facilities.
The jubilee will be officially inaugurated when the Pope opens the Holy Door in St Peter’s Basilica on December 24 and in the four papal basilicas in Rome in following days.
Francis decreed that on December 29, diocesan bishops in every cathedral and co-cathedral throughout the world “are to celebrate Holy Mass as the solemn opening of the Jubilee Year”.
The jubilee will conclude for local churches on December 28, 2025. Francis will formally conclude the Jubilee of Hope with the closing of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica on January 6, 2026.
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Pope appeals for clemency, debt forgiveness during jubilee (By Elise Ann Allen, Crux)
