Pope Francis opens the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica in Rome thereby officially inaugurating the 2025 Jubilee of Hope. 

What is a Jubilee Year?

In the Catholic Church, a Jubilee or Holy Year is a special year of forgiveness and reconciliation, in which people are invited to come back into right relationship with God, with one another, and with all of creation.

How often is a Jubilee Year?

A Jubilee Year is celebrated by the Church every 25 years. This has been the case since 1470, when Pope Paul II changed it from every 50 years.

What is the theme of the Jubilee Year in 2025?

The theme is Pilgrims of Hope. Pope Francis has invited Catholics to renew our hope and discover a vision that can "restore access to the fruits of the earth to everyone". We are also invited to rediscover a spirituality of God's creation in which we understand ourselves as "pilgrims on the earth" rather than masters of the world.

We opened the Year of the Jubilee by wearing the colours of the jubilee to school. We joined a live stream event and made our own pledges. We all processed through the balloon arch as a symbol of entering into the jubilee year. We even enjoyed a jubilee cupcake. We took part in a whole school pilgrimage to Hulton Abbey. So far We have completed some of our pledges by creating our own school prayer garden which was blessed and opened by Bishop Timothy Menezes. In our busy world, our garden is a  special place for prayer which helps you think, find peace, and grow closer to God. We know this will be an important part of OLSB for many years to come. The children are being stewards of God's creation by caring for the plants in the garden. We have carried out Litter picks for our local community, sang at the local care home as well as raising money for our local hospice. We have also provided food for the food bank and filled rucksacks for the homeless shelter.   We have prayed for our Global family and have raised money for Mary's meals.