On May 9, 2024 Pope Francis delivered a message in front of the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican stating that the year 2025 will be a year of Jubilee. Also known as a "Holy Year", a year of Jubilee (in a religious sense) is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. It is a time of spiritual renewal, pilgrimage, and reconciliation that occurs every 25 years. In special cases, the Pope has called for extraordinary years of Jubilee. The last time a Pope declared a Jubilee year was in 2016 when he called for a year of mercy.  This year, the Jubilee year will begin on December 24, 2024 and end on January 6, 2026 (The Feast of the Epiphany.) 
 
This year’s Jubilee theme is HOPE.  In preparation for this special year, Pope Francis released a document titled: Spes Non Confundit.  The first few lines of this document says:

"Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. 
Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt. 
Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness.  
For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. 
 
Scripture says: 'Hope does not disappoint because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us.' Romans 5:5"