Rome, eternal and unique, Rome with its pink watercolor skies, timeless buildings of all time, brick walls and temples that speak, whisper only and only of her. Rome is a new Rome since Christmas. She has put on her most beautiful dress, renewing her squares and churches to open her doors to the world, to bring mercy and forgiveness to the world.
This year, after 725 years since the first Jubilee instituted by Boniface VIII, Pope Francis opened the Jubilee of Hope, the 25th ordinary jubilee of the Catholic Church, a most important moment for all those who do not want to miss this occasion.
Thus, through the Holy Doors of the Papal Roman Basilicas (St. Peter’s, St. Mary Major, St. John Lateran and St. Paul’s) people from all over the world eager to be reconciled with God have been passing through for a little over a month, one by one, in groups and in a hurry. More than a billion visitors are expected in 2025 to the Eternal City. There is no need to make reservations, except for a default entry route to St. Peter’s from Piazza Pia, which is very impressive but not mandatory. In addition, special visas may be issued to enter Italy for those participating in pilgrimages to Rome, organized by local churches.
What is Jubilee? The term derives from the Hebrew yobél, the ram’s horn that the Mosaic law required to be sounded every 50 years, thus marking the beginning of the Holy Year (Leviticus 25:8-55), during which a kind of amnesty was in force: slaves and prisoners were freed, lands returned to their former owners and debts forgiven. What about the Catholic Jubilee? The Vatican’s website “vatican.va” calls it “the year of remission of sins and punishment for sins,” “the year of reconciliation between litigants, of conversion and sacramental penance and, consequently, of solidarity, hope, justice, and commitment to the service of God in joy and peace with one’s brothers and sisters. The Jubilee year is above all the year of Christ, the bearer of life and grace to humanity.” This then, in particular, is a Holy Year of Hope, which at this stage of history is as rare as it is necessary. But if forgiveness of sins we can understand, even if the ecclesiastical language is unfamiliar to us, remission of punishment is objectively a complicated concept. In fact, remission of sins, for Catholic doctrine, is the forgiveness of sin itself that enables the person to restore friendship with God. This is what happens with the Sacrament of Confession: the sinner, repentant, obtains forgiveness through Mercy. Passing through the “Holy Door,” complying with the conditions set for the Jubilee, in addition, we also receive from God the “remission of punishment,” which concerns the temporal consequences of sin, the “debt” to be served for divine Justice, which otherwise remain even if the guilt has been erased. Thus, having forgiven sin, we also work on its effects that leave a “mark” within us and in the world.
A vision that, beyond doctrine, reflects the complexity of the process of reconciliation and healing in interpersonal relationships.
The Jubilee year, aimed at the entire Catholic world, is divided and organized into periods dedicated to specific professions or activities, such as the jubilee of the world of communication held Jan. 24-26, during which Pope Francis made a call for communication that generates hope, rather than stoking fears and divisions. The pontiff called to “always sow hope, even when it is difficult, even when it costs, even when it seems not to bear fruit” by moving from “storytelling” to “hopetelling,” contributing to the positive transformation of society.
Rome is ready to welcome the world in need of mercy, Rome is ready to welcome all New Yorkers seeking Hope who will find here not only a moment of grace for the spirit but also its Great Beauty.
The article The Twenty-fifth Jubilee: Rome prepares to welcome the Catholic world comes from TheNewyorkese.
