The Papal Bull
Tradition dictates that each Jubilee is proclaimed by the publication of a Papal Bull of Indiction. ‘Bull’ refers to an official document, generally written in Latin, bearing the seal of the Pope, the form of which gives the document its name. Each Bull is identified by its initial words. For example, St John Paul II called the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 with the Bull Incarnationis mysterium (‘The Mystery of the Incarnation’), while Pope Francis called the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (2015-2016) with the Bull Misericordiae vultus (‘The Face of Mercy’). The Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee 2025 is Spes non confundit.
The Jubilee Logo
The Logo represents four stylised figures to indicate humanity from the four corners of the earth. They are one embraced by the other, to indicate the solidarity and brotherhood that must unite peoples. It is noticeable that the opener is clinging to the cross. It is the sign not only of the faith it embraces, but of the hope that can never be abandoned because we need it always and especially in times of greatest need.
The Hymn
The hymn of the 2025 Jubilee is Pilgrims of Hope, and is available at this link.
The First Jubilee
The first Jubilee in the Christian era was in 1300. With the bull Antiquorum habet, on 22 February 1300, Boniface VIII proclaimed 1300 as the Jubilee year, emphasising that Romans who would visit the basilicas of St Peter and St Paul thirty times within the year would be granted a plenary indulgence, while pilgrims arriving from outside Rome would only need fifteen visits.
