Pilgrim of Hope Icon

 An Icon for the Jubilee Holy Year

CAFOD ICON Jubilee Holy Year: Pilgrims of Hope
in the Lady Chapel St Peter's Cathedral

To help celebrate and mark the Jubilee Holy Year 2025, Pilgrims of Hope, CAFOD commissioned an icon from artist Mulugeta Araya in Ethiopia. This weekend it has been located in the Lady Chapel.

Ethiopia was chosen because of the strong tradition of iconography within the country and to demonstrate that this is a global Jubilee – not just something that is happening in England and Wales.

The icon interprets Jesus’ teaching of healing and liberation in the Synagogue in Luke 4:16-21, which refers to Isaiah 61:1-2. Jesus explains how he has come to bring good news to those who are poor, and liberty to those who are captive or oppressed.

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favour. Luke 4:18-19

To read more information about the icon see the Cafod website and to learn more about the icon watch the video below.

Celebrating the Jubilee Holy Year

 Start of Holy Year 

Today Bishop Paul came to celebrate 10.30 Mass and open the Holy Year for our parish. We gathered outside the West (main) door of the Cathedral in a way similar to Palm Sunday. The liturgy of the opening of the Holy Year consisted of 4 steps

Reading Papal Bull at start of Holy Year

Prayers outside the Cathedral with the reading of the Papal Bull (decree) inaugurating the Holy Year

A solemn opening of the main doors of the cathedral with the Bishop leading the people into the House of God behind the medieval processional cross from Cockersands Abbey

Blessing and sprinkling of Holy Water

Solemn celebration of Mass beginning with the Gloria.

Cockersands Abbey Medieval Cross

To read more about this splendid cross see the Wyre Archaeology Society

Jubilee Holy Year 2025

Pilgrims of Hope

Pope Francis will open a Holy Year for the entire Catholic Church in 2025. These special years of grace take place every 25 years and are an opportunity for spiritual renewal for the entire Catholic people. The theme of this Holy Year will be 'Pilgrims of Hope'

The focus of a Holy Year is the pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles SS Peter and Paul in Rome. This pilgrimage has special indulgences attached and is a chance to return to the sources of our faith in the early Church. However, the Holy Father wishes this to be celebrated across the Church as well in each local diocese.

A hymn has been written for the year.

As such, the Pope has asked that this Holy Year be opened solemnly in every Catholic cathedral on 29th December this year.  Tomorrow Bishop Paul Swarbrick, Bishop of Lancaster celebrated 10.30 Mass in our cathedral to inaugurate the Holy Year for our diocese.  Why not come and join us. 

Jubilee (Holy) Year 2025

 Jubilee (Holy) Year 2025 Pilgrims of Hope’.

As the bishop announced in his letter last weekend Pope Francis will open a Holy Year for the entire Catholic Church in 2025. These special years of grace take place every 25 years and are an opportunity for spiritual renewal for the entire Catholic people. 

The theme of this Holy Year will be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. The focus of a Holy Year is the pilgrimage to the tombs of the apostles SS Peter and Paul in Rome. 

This pilgrimage has special indulgences attached and is a chance to return to the sources of our faith in the early Church. However, the Holy Father wishes this to be celebrated across the Church as well. As such, he has asked that this Holy Year be opened solemnly in every Catholic cathedral in the world on 29th December this year. The Bishop will celebrate the 10.30 Mass that day in our cathedral to inaugurate the Holy Year for our diocese. The Pope has asked that this Mass be preceded by a special procession, and contain particular ceremonies to explain its significance. 

More details will follow about how the Bishop has planned to celebrate this year in our diocese.

2025: A year of Jubilee

A year of Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope

Pope Frances has decided that 2025 will be a year of Jubilee.  A year of Jubilee is something which happens every 25 years. The theme is “Pilgrims of Hope”, a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of COVID-19 pandemic, and a climate crisis.

A year of preparation for the Jubilee Year started in Advent 2023 and during 2024 we are encouraged to explore individual and community of prayer. Throughout the year we'll share different prayers and welcome people to share their favourite prayers and perhaps a story about why it is important to you.   

Logo of the Jubilee 2025