May no one be deprived of God's forgiveness and consolation

Jubilee 2025

Dear friends of WUCWO:

Last December 24, Pope Francis crossed the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica in Rome; a moment that surely went unnoticed by many of us, but which had great symbolic force for the entire Catholic Church. It was the beginning of the Jubilee Year 2025, which will last until 6 January 2026. We are all invited to imitate the Holy Father and participate as pilgrims of hope throughout the year, even if we cannot do so physically in a Jubilee Church, because there are many ways of taking part. The important thing is to understand what this year is and represents, to be able to benefit from all the graces that the Lord's mercy offers us and to respond to the call to live the ‘hope that does not disappoint’.

The Jubilee invites us to set out on a journey towards God and to prepare our hearts for an encounter with Him.  The other day I heard someone saying: "When somebody is pointing to a place, it is logical to look in the direction he is pointing, not to stare at the finger". In the same way, the Jubilee is not an end itself, but a signal pointing to a deeper encounter with God. It is an opportunity given to us to reencounter Him more fully. 

Surely most of us have heard of the Jubilee, but what is a Jubilee? It seems that this feast has biblical origins going back to the Old Testament, in the time of Moses: ‘In this fiftieth year, your year of jubilee, you shall not sow, nor shall you reap the aftergrowth or pick the grapes from the untrimmed vines. Since this is the jubilee, which shall be sacred for you.’ (Lev 25:11-12). The Jubilee was a year of forgiveness and liberation celebrated every 50 years. It was intended as an occasion to re-establish the right relationship with God, people and creation. During the Jubilee, debts were cancelled, slaves were set free and land was returned to its original owners.

In the Catholic tradition, the Jubilee was instituted by Pope Boniface VIII in the year 1300 and, to this day, the ordinary Jubilee is celebrated every 25 years as a time of grace, forgiveness and spiritual renewal.

Dear WUCWO sisters, the Jubilee is a great gift from our mother, the Church! Let us all join in this call. I like to be reminded of the great opportunity offered to us, which are the plenary indulgences, that help us to purify our hearts and free us from the consequences of sin. As we well know, every sin, already forgiven through confession, leaves a mark; it leaves consequences of the evil committed that can be erased by the grace of the Plenary Indulgence, which purifies us to allow us the definitive passage to God´s love.

To obtain it, what the Church asks of us is: 1. To be truly repentant for our faults and moved by the spirit of charity; 2. to carry out any of the works for which the indulgence is granted in this Jubilee Year; and 3. to comply, as well, with the three usual conditions: sacramental Confession, Eucharistic Communion and prayer for the intentions of the Holy Father. The activities we can carry out are numerous and are mentioned in the Apostolic Penitentiary Decree of 13 May 2024. These works include pilgrimages to designated holy places, such as the Basilicas of Rome, the Holy Land or the cathedrals, shrines and local temples designated by the Bishop of each diocese, and devotions such as Eucharistic adoration, the recitation of the Rosary or the Stations of the Cross, carried out in Jubilee Shrines or other holy places designated by the Bishops or Episcopal Conferences.

In addition to pilgrimages and acts of devotion, during this Holy Year we can all live the Jubilee through acts of penance and works of mercy, corporal or spiritual, such as participating in formation meetings or spiritual exercises, supporting works of a religious or social nature, especially in the defense and protection of life, or visiting and helping those most in need such as the elderly, the sick, prisoners, the poor, women victims of violence, unprotected children or migrants and refugees, ‘as if making a pilgrimage towards Christ present in them’.  As the Holy Father encourages us, ‘During the Holy Year, we are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind’ (Spes non confundit, 10). Even those who are unable to participate physically, due to illness, old age or other difficulties, can receive the indulgence by spiritually joining in the celebrations and offering their sufferings and prayers.

Finally, let us not lose sight of the fact that, as Pope Francis reminds us, the Jubilee indulgence, by virtue of prayer, is intended particularly for those who have gone before us, so that they may obtain full mercy. It is thus understandable that we need to pray for those who have finished their earthly journey, in solidarity with the communion of saints. We can apply every indulgence we receive during the year to one of our loved ones who have gone before us on their way to the Father's house or to the souls in Purgatory. We can send so many souls to heaven!

The Jubilee asks us to set out on a journey and to go beyond certain limits.  It is therefore important that we prepare ourselves, plan the journey and know the goal. How beautiful it would be if the more than 8 million women of WUCWO, scattered in every corner of the world, would respond to this special invitation of the Church this year! Some from Tanzania, others from Korea, I from Mexico... all of us, wherever we are, praying together for the Church and for the Pope's intentions, and bringing the message of hope to others, so that no one is deprived of the possibility of receiving God's forgiveness and consolation. What a joy to know that, as sisters in faith, we are called to live the Jubilee in communion, each one from our own reality!

There will certainly be special moments in our dioceses and parishes: celebrations, retreats, jubilee meetings... There will be particularly important moments for us, such as the Jubilee of Families, Children, Grandparents and the Elderly (30 May to 1 June) and the Jubilee of Movements, Associations and New Communities (7 and 8 June). In addition, on 6 June, WUCWO will hold an event in Rome, on the occasion of the Jubilee, entitled ‘Women: Signs of Hope and Life’, which will be transmitted to the whole world via zoom. You will receive the invitation.

But beyond participating in these activities, I invite you all to live this time with a heart full of prayer, charity, service and hope. Every gesture of love, no matter how small it may seem, makes us part of this great feast of faith. This year is a great opportunity to strengthen our unity as WUCWO women, supporting each other and walking together as true pilgrims of hope. May the Lord accompany and bless us on this journey, and may Mary, Mother of Hope and Peace, always guide us to her Son.

Mónica Santamarina

WUCWO President General