The universal Catholic Church is set to commence its Jubilee Year 2025, a year of spiritual renewal aimed at inspiring the faithful to become "Pilgrims of Hope" amid global challenges. In Newark, this significant event will be marked by an Opening Mass led by Cardinal Tobin on Sunday, December 29, at noon in the Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart.

The ceremony will begin with a reading from John (14:1-7), where Jesus states, "I am the way and the truth and the life," emphasizing Christ as the ultimate goal of any pilgrimage. Cardinal Tobin will read Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year, which describes 2025 as a time for Catholics to be "renewed in hope" using God's Word as their guide. Following this, Cardinal Tobin will lead a procession outside to the cathedral's entrance, holding up a cross and declaring, “Hail, Cross of Christ, our only hope.” The congregation will then return inside for a sprinkling with holy water.

Throughout the coming year, Catholics are invited to participate in various Jubilee Masses and prayer events locally. They are also encouraged to seek plenary indulgence by visiting one of four designated holy sites or completing other tasks outlined in the Archdiocese’s guidelines. Additional details are available on their Jubilee Year webpage.

“This Jubilee promises to be a time of grace for the Universal Church,” Cardinal Tobin stated. He expressed his hope that all members of the Archdiocese — clergy and laypeople alike — would find opportunities to share in this grace.

Jubilee Years offer Catholics an opportunity to reconnect with God and others through prayer and reconciliation. Traditionally held every 25 years since 1300 (excluding extraordinary Jubilees), these years were initially observed at intervals of 100 or 50 years. The last Jubilee celebrated Christianity's third millennium in 2000.

While dioceses globally will begin their celebrations on December 29, Pope Francis is scheduled to officially inaugurate Jubilee Year 2025 in Vatican City on Christmas Eve by opening St. Peter’s Basilica's Holy Door. He plans to open additional Holy Doors at other papal basilicas and establish one at a Rome prison as a symbol of hope for prisoners' reform.

“The purpose of the Jubilee Year is to give each one of us a dose of hope,” explained Father Thomas Dente from Newark’s Worship Office. Highlighting Pope Francis' acknowledgment of current global issues such as wars and suffering, he emphasized that despair should not prevail because "Christ is always with us."

For more information on celebrating the Jubilee Year within Newark's Archdiocese, visit www.rcan.org/jubilee-2025.