Welcoming the Jubilee Year! 

Medicine Hat Catholic Welcomes the Jubilee Year! 

We invite our families, students, staff, and community to join Catholics around the world as we celebrate this special year. As Pope Francis says, “May the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope!”

What is Jubilee 2025?

Every 25 years since 1300, the Catholic Church holds a special celebration called the Jubilee Year. This is a time of reset, a time to focus on our relationship with God and with others. The 2025 Jubilee will officially open on December 24, 2024, at 7:00 PM, with the rite of Opening of the Holy Door of the Papal Basilica of St. Peter by the Holy Father, who will then preside over the celebration of the Night Mass of the Lord's Birth inside the Basilica. 

There are several key dates during Jubilee 2025, these can be found in the Jubilee 2025 Calendar.

2025 Theme: Pilgrims of Hope

“Hope does not disappoint” (Rom 5:5). Pope Francis has chosen Pilgrims of Hope as this year's theme. 

The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation. May the witness of believers be for our world a leaven of authentic hope, a harbinger of new heavens and a new earth (cf. 2 Pet 3:13), where men and women will dwell in justice and harmony, in joyful expectation of the fulfilment of the Lord’s promises.

Let us even now be drawn to this hope! Through our witness, may hope spread to all those who anxiously seek it. May the way we live our lives say to them in so many words: “Hope in the Lord! Hold firm, take heart and hope in the Lord!” (Ps 27:14). May the power of hope fill our days, as we await with confidence the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ, to whom be praise and glory, now and forever.

Read the full text of Pope Francis' message here.

How We Are Celebrating the Jubilee Year

During the Jubilee year, Medicine Hat Catholic schools will engage in Jubilee-themed activities led by school faith leaders and administrators:

• Jubilee prayers and lessons during school assemblies.
• Pilgrimage opportunities and acts of service within our communities.
• Resources and events in collaboration with the Diocese of Calgary and the Alberta Catholic School Trustees Association (ACSTA). 

Each month the division will feature a different school's Jubilee-themed activity or event on social media, all posts will be linked below:

• February 2025
• March 2025
• April 2025
• May 2025
• June 2025
• September 2025
• October 2025
• November 2025
• December 2025

This year is an invitation to reflect, renew, and walk together in hope. Follow us on Facebook and Instagram to view our monthly Jubilee celebration posts!