The liturgical cycle for 2025 follows in general the Gospel of Luke (Year C) with Easter falling a little later in April. Much voice throughout this year will be given to the prayerful discernments of the Synod on Synodality and this special year of Grace as a Jubilee Year.

Pope Francis officially declared 2025 a Year of Jubilee with a papal bull, titled Spes Non Confudit, meaning Hope Does Not Disappoint.’ The Jubilee Year began with the opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve 2024.

The theme of the jubilee is ‘pilgrims of hope’, as the Pope is calling on all Catholics to renew in the hope of Christ, using St. Paul the Apostle as a guide for this special year.

‘Everyone knows what it is to hope,’ His Holiness said. ‘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. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt.

‘Often, we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness.

‘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. Taking it as our guide, let us return to the message that the Apostle Paul wished to communicate to the Christians of Rome.’

In the papal bull, Pope Francis also decreed Sunday, 29 December for the celebration of Mass to mark the solemn opening of the Jubilee Year, which will officially end with the closing of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica on 6 January 2026, the solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord.

‘During the Holy Year, may the light of Christian hope illumine all humanity, as a message of God’s love addressed to all!, the Pope said. ‘And may the Church bear faithful witness to this message in every part of  
the world!’.

Finally, as The Rule states, ‘Vincentians serve with hope’, and may this special year of jubilee enhance our service and encourage us with the year’s extraordinary graces.