Attention High School Students and Parents!
Please join us on Sunday, May 5 at 6:00pm
in Powers Hall at St. John the Evangelist ChurchEnjoy gelato and cannoli as we open a conversation about a
Youth Ministry Pilgrimage
to theJubilee of Youth
July 28 – August 3, 2025 in Rome, Italy
(Students must be 16 or older by July 1, 2025 to participate.)
If you are unable to join us for the conversation on May 5 but would like to receive updates about the pilgrimage, please add your information to our contact list below.
Please feel free to reach out to our Youth Ministry team at youthministry@sjspwellesley.org with any questions.
What is a Holy Year of Jubilee?
A Holy Year of Jubilee is a special celebration the Church holds at least once every 25 years. It’s a year of pilgrimages, of a focus on the spiritual life, of confession and special Masses, and of a general turn towards God in thanksgiving, and in repentance.
The theological significance of the Catholic jubilee lies in its emphasis on the concepts of forgiveness, mercy, and grace. Reconciliation is central to the jubilee celebration and is reflected in the acts of charity, justice, and forgiveness encouraged during this time.
The jubilee also finds theological roots in the imagery of pilgrimage. Just as the Israelites journeyed to Jerusalem to celebrate the biblical jubilee, pilgrims from around the world travel to Rome during the Holy Year to pass through the Holy Door. This act symbolizes the passage from sin to grace, from the burden of guilt to the freedom found in Christ.
Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
In announcing Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis wrote:
The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire; that is why I have chosen as the motto of the Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope.
-Pope Francis
The Holy Year will officially begin on December 24, 2024 with the Opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. Over the course of 2024, specific weeks of the year are devoted to different purposes. The week of July 28 – August 3, 2025 is devoted to the “Jubilee of Youth”.
Please visit the Jubilee 2025 website for more general information.
Why Are We Hoping to go to Rome for the Jubilee of Youth?
Last year, at the end of the concluding Mass of the World Youth Day celebrations in Lisbon, we listened as Pope Francis called on all the young people present in the crowd to come together again in Rome in 2025 for the Jubilee of Hope.
“I’m giving you an invitation. The invitation is addressed to the young people of the whole world to come to Rome in 2025 to celebrate together the Jubilee of Youth.
I’ll see you again in 2025 to celebrate the Youth Jubilee.”
-Pope Francis
Contact List for Updates About Jubilee 2025
We are still in the exploratory stage of planning for this pilgrimage – please enter your information below to receive updates as they become available.