A Holy Year is about to start in Rome. Here’s what you need to know

VATICAN CITY (AP) — Pope Francis makes official inauguration Tuesday Holy Year 2025Amid new security fears following the Christmas market attack in Germany, it is reviving an ancient church tradition encouraging believers to make a pilgrimage to Rome.

At the beginning of the Christmas Eve Mass, Francis will push open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, which will remain open throughout the year. estimated 32 million pilgrims It is planned to visit Rome to pass.

The first Holy Year was called in 1300, and in recent times it has generally been celebrated every 25 to 50 years. Participating pilgrims can obtain “indulgences,” the Catholic Church’s centuries-old feature of forgiveness of sins that roughly translates to a “get out of Purgatory free” card.

The last regular Jubilee was in 2000, when St. John Paul II ushered in the church’s third millennium. Francis declares a special Jubilee 2015-2016 dedicated to mercy The next one is planned to be held in 2033 to commemorate the anniversary of Jesus’ crucifixion.

What are tolerances?

According to church teaching, Catholics who confess their sins are forgiven and therefore freed from the penalty of eternal or spiritual damnation. A tolerance is designed remove the “temporary” penalty of sin this may remain the result of wrongdoing, which may disrupt the sinner’s relationships with others.

Martin Luther’s opposition to the church’s practice of selling indulgences inspired him to launch the Protestant Reformation in the 1500s. He was excommunicated, and the practice of buying and selling indulgences had been illegal since the Council of Trent in 1562. However, their endowment continued and is an important element of Holy Year pilgrimages.

According to the norms published for the 2025 Jubilee, Catholics will be able to benefit from indulgences in the following cases:

— Make a pious pilgrimage, attending masses and other sacraments at any of the four papal basilicas or other holy Jubilee sites in Rome or the Holy Land “to reveal the great need for transformation and reconciliation.”

— Participate in works of charity, mercy, or penance, such as visiting prisoners, the sick, or the elderly, or undertaking corporal works of mercy “to feed the hungry, give drink to the thirsty, clothe the naked, welcome the stranger, heal the sick.” , visit the prisoners and bury the dead.”

— For at least one day a week, with a sense of remorse, abstain from “useless distractions” like social media or “unnecessary consumption” like fasting or donating a commensurate amount to help the poor. immigrants.

Why the focus on prisoners?

Francis for a long time ministry for prisoners is the hallmark of his priestly vocation, and the Holy Year, dedicated to a message of hope, is no exception.

In fact, the only other Holy Door that Francis will personally open this year is in the chapel of the Rebibbia prison in Rome, specifically to draw attention to the need to give prisoners hope for a better future.

The last major event of the Holy Year before it closes on January 6, 2026 is the Jubilee of the Prisoners on December 14, 2025.

What’s on the calendar?

The Jubilee calendar is a dazzling compilation of official and unofficial Holy Year events that will sorely test the endurance of Francis, who has just turned 88 and enters the Christmas season with a cold that makes it difficult for him to breathe.

Each month, Francis is expected to attend two, three or four official Jubilee events aimed at specific categories of people: armed forces, artists, priests, poor people, volunteers and teachers. There are also unofficial Jubilee events where individual dioceses and other groups organize their own pilgrimages to Rome.

An item on September 6, the unofficial calendar of the Jubilee, made news because it was organized by “La Tenda di Gionata” or “Jonathan’s Tent”, an Italian association. Making LGBTQ+ Catholics more welcome In the Catholic Church.

What about the safety of so many people?

Rome Mayor Roberto Gualtieri said security plans call for a mix of traditional policing — 700 extra officers — as well as high-tech surveillance using drones and closed-circuit cameras that can track in real time thanks to algorithms informed by artificial intelligence. Time for crowd sizes and choke points.

“There will be more vehicles, more men and very, very robust and important safety devices,” Gualtieri told reporters last week.

The Vatican has tried to reduce traffic congestion as much as possible by allowing pilgrims to pre-book their visits to St. Peter’s Basilica.

Driver after crashing into a vehicle Christmas market in Magdeburg, GermanyAfter killing five people, Italian authorities last week sent a circular to police stations across the country recommending “maximum” investigative efforts and immediately increasing surveillance and police patrols around Christmas markets, exhibitions and tourist attractions.

The Vatican certainly qualifies as an at-risk target, with its life-size nursery and outdoor exhibition of scenes depicting the nativity of Christ in the giant Christmas tree in St. Peter’s Square and the Bernini colonnade surrounding it.

How else is Roma prepared?

became Rome groaning under two years of intense preparations An event was organized for the Holy Year that included major public works projects and artistic renovations, overlapping with separate initiatives paid for by the European Union’s COVID-19 recovery funds.

Less than a third of the 323 Jubilee projects have been completed or are nearing completion; This means that traffic problems and eyesores will continue in 2025 and even 2026. But Romans and visitors are getting to see at least some of the finished products.

Bernini’s fountains in Piazza Navona shine white again after months of cleaning. Just this weekend, the beautified Trevi Fountain was reopened, and on Monday the main Jubilee project was announced: Castel St. A pedestrian square connecting Angelo to Via della Conciliazione, the main boulevard leading to St. Peter’s Square.

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