With Mary, pilgrims of hope
Pilgrims from all over the world will converge on Rome to pass through the Holy Door. Visitors will be able to experience the grace of the Jubilee at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes. The Jubilee Year will be officially opened in Lourdes at the 11pm Mass at the Grotto of Massabielle on 31st December.
The grace of the Plenary Indulgence
In the Bull of Indiction for the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, Spes non confundit (9th May 2024), Pope Francis emphasised that the Indulgence is the expression of God’s mercy, which ‘becomes the ‘indulgence on the part of the Father who, through the Bride of Christ, his Church, reaches the pardoned sinner and frees him or her from every residue left by the consequences of sin.’(MV n.22) He invites us to discover this gift of the Jubilee Indulgence: ‘the indulgence is a way of discovering the unlimited nature of God’s mercy.’ (SC n.23).
The conditions for receiving the grace of a plenary indulgence
To obtain a plenary indulgence, the following conditions must be met: – Carry out the works attached to the indulgence, such as going to the Cathedral or Sanctuary of Lourdes, and no more than seven days later, receive forgiveness through sacramental confession, receive Eucharistic Communion, pray for the Pope’s intentions.
Works to be performed
The faithful may receive the indulgence by performing one of the following works: Participating in the Stations of the Cross, praying the Rosary, participating in a Marian Procession at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes, completing the Jubilee Way at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Lourdes,
Since divine mercy will be offered on a large scale during the Jubilee Year, the ‘chapelains’ will generously make themselves available to celebrate the sacrament of Penance.
1st January: Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God
On 1st January, one week after Christmas, the Church invites us to enter the New Year by reflecting on Mary, Mother of God, and praying with her in a worldwide call for Peace.
In Lourdes, Mary shines with a light that neither starts nor ends with her. It shines through her just like a stained-glass window makes the light sing and then it reaches us, alive and glorious.
In Lourdes, we pray to Mary, Mother of God
Since 11th February 1858, the date of the first apparition of the Virgin Mary to Bernadette Soubirous, the people of God have been praying continuously to the Mother of God.
It took the Church more than three centuries to shape the words we use and make them the core of her faith in Mary, Mother of God.
The second part of the Hail Mary continues this prayer to Mary, expressing the prayer of the Church. It opens with a true profession of faith: Holy Mary, Mother of God… In just a few words, addressed in prayer to Mary, they echo the essence of the angel’s greeting to Mary, and that of Elizabeth, which were at the heart of the contemplative prayer in the first part of the Hail Mary:
Hail Mary, full of grâce:
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou amongst women
And blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God,
Paray for us, sinners,
Now and at the hour of our death.
Amen
Holy Mary, Mother of God and World Day of Peace
Since 1968, the Catholic Church has celebrated the World Day of Peace on 1st January every year. On this day, the Pope presents a message in which he expresses his concerns and wishes for the future.
The theme chosen by the Pope for the 2025 World Day of Peace is: ‘Forgive us our trespasses: grant us your peace.’
The theme of the Day is closely linked to the biblical and ecclesial meaning of the Jubilee Year which, in Lourdes, begins on 31st December with the Mass celebrated at the Grotto at 11pm by Mgr. Jean-Marc Micas, Bishop of Tarbes and Lourdes.
