Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI is to attend the opening of the Holy Door by Pope Francis at St Peter’s Basilica on December 8. The retired pontiff accepted the invitation of Francis to attend the opening. Benedict will not take part in the whole official inauguration of the Jubilee of Mercy. But he will be present Read more
Posts Tagged ‘Jubilee’
Vatican Christmas tree early for jubilee
Friday, November 20th, 2015The Vatican’s Christmas tree will be unveiled early this year in order to coincide with the jubilee Year of Mercy. The 32-metre spruce tree from Bavaria was erected on November 18 in St Peter’s Square. It will be unveiled on December 8, a date when world attention will be on Rome at the start of Read more
Italian church to help battling families pay utility bills
Tuesday, November 3rd, 2015
The Italian Church will help struggling families pay overdue utility bills for the Jubilee Year of Mercy. The initiative to help people who face having their utilities cut off was launched by Italy’s bishops as part of the Jubilee tradition of forgiving debts. “We are starting a project for the jubilee that sees mercy as Read more
A special Holy Year
Monday, March 23rd, 2015
The Extraordinary Jubilee promulgated by Francis will be the 65th in history. The first was announced by Sixtus V in 1585. The “special” Holy Year does not alter the recurrence of Ordinary Jubilees. The last Pope to open the (cemented shut) Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica for an universal Extraordinary Jubilee was the future Read more
Pope Francis announces Jubilee Year of Mercy
Tuesday, March 17th, 2015
Pope Francis has announced a Jubilee Year of Mercy in order to celebrate God’s forgiveness. The “extraordinary Holy Year” will take place from December 8, 2015, the feast of the Immaculate Conception, to November 20, 2016, the Feast of Christ the King. Announcing the closing date, the Pope added a new term to the title Read more
Agana Archdiocese, Guam, celebrates 50 years with a jubilee year
Friday, October 17th, 2014
The Archdiocese of Agana (Guam) held a special Mass on Tuesday at the Dulce Nombre de Maria Cathedral-Basilica in Hagatna to inaugurate the grand Jubilee Year for the Church on Guam. Archbishop of Agana, Anthony Sablan Apuron, last month proclaimed a Jubilee Year for the Archdiocese to celebrate the 50th anniversary of its establishment on Read more
SMSM jubilee begins with thanksgiving mass
Friday, June 6th, 2014
A mass to officially open the 150th jubilee of the Missionary Sisters of the Society of Mary (SMSM) in Samoa was held at the newly opened Mulivai Cathedral on Sunday Bishop Peter Brown from American Samoa was the principal celebrant. Head of State, His Highness Tui Atua Tupua Tamasese Efi addressed the crowd. “On Tuesday Read more
Poverty is not a project
Tuesday, April 8th, 2014
Do you recall The Great Jubilee Year 2000? For a few years before the turn of the century, almost every statement by a bishop or other church leader or organization contained some paean to the jubilee. The pope had called for it, and so all sorts of people either sincerely or for show acted as Read more
German Chancellor urges Protestant-Catholic accord
Friday, November 9th, 2012
German Chancellor Angela Merkel has urged Protestants and Catholics to emphasise what they have in common as Germany prepares to celebrate the 500th anniversary of the Protestant Reformation in 2017. “Especially in a very secular world, we should always stress what is common in the Christian religion,” said Merkel, who is the daughter of a Read more
Bishop Denis Browne celebrates a double
Friday, July 20th, 2012
The bishop of the Hamilton diocese, in New Zealand, Denis Browne, has just celebrated a double anniversary; the jubilee of his priesthood and 35 years as a bishop. Before being appointed as the second bishop of Hamilton, in 1994, Bishop Denis was the bishop of Rarotonga from 1977 to 1983, and bishop of Auckland from 1983 Read more