Pope Francis: How to be ‘pilgrims of hope’ during Jubilee Year

Pope Francis leads the Angelus prayer and gives an address from the chapel of Casa Santa Marta on Sunday, Dec. 22, 2024, at the Vatican. / Credit: Vatican Media

CNA Newsroom, Dec 28, 2024 / 09:00 am (CNA).

Pope Francis called on Catholics to become “pilgrims of hope” in a BBC podcast on Friday, emphasizing that “hope and kindness touch the very heart of the Gospel.”

Speaking just days after the opening of the Jubilee Year, the pope emphasized that “kindness is not a diplomatic strategy” nor “a set of rules to ensure social harmony or to obtain other advantages” but rather “a form of love that opens hearts to acceptance and helps us all to become more humble.”

“Wars, social injustices, and the many forms of violence we are exposed to every day should not dishearten us nor draw us toward skepticism and discouragement,” the Holy Father said in the audio message published Dec. 29.

The pope referenced G.K. Chesterton, noting that the British writer “was also held in high esteem by the Argentine poet Jorge Luis Borges.”

Francis highlighted Chesterton’s autobiographical invitation to “take the elements of life with gratitude and not for granted.”

Speaking about the recently begun Jubilee Year, Francis concluded with “a wish for hope, which is a theological virtue, together with faith and charity,” praying that “the new year bring us peace, fellowship, and gratitude.”

Pilgrims from around the world have been passing through the open Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica this week, which Pope Francis opened on Christmas Eve to begin the 2025 Jubilee.

In his Christmas Day message, Pope Francis recalled, “the door of God’s heart is always open; let us return to him. Let us return to the heart that loves us and forgives us.”

On Thursday, the Holy Door at the Rebibbia prison was opened, and other Holy Doors are being opened in Rome as the Jubilee Year 2025 gets underway.

The Catholic Church offers the faithful opportunities to grow in faith and spiritual renewal during this time, which is also known as the Holy Year.

An important part of the jubilee is the opportunity to receive a plenary indulgence — a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin.

Some of the most significant events of the Jubilee of Hope will be the canonizations of Blessed Carlo Acutis during the Jubilee of Teenagers on Apr. 27, and Blessed Pier Giorgio Frassati during the Jubilee of Young People on Aug. 3.