The Assembly of Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land has released a “Message to the Faithful of the Holy Land” on the occasion of the opening of the Holy Year 2025 (text attached).
“The theme chosen by Pope Francis is: Pilgrims of Hope. For us, Catholics of the Holy Land, hope, precisely in these times, is especially necessary, and the Holy Father, in the Bull of Indiction for the Ordinary Jubilee, reminded us that hope does not disappoint.”
“If we look at this time of trial and tribulation from a purely human point of view this inevitably leads us to discouragement, to a cynical view of the present and the future, to the very loss of faith and the consequent abandonment of the Church. It is precisely in this context that God’s word and the Jubilee year itself invite us to rediscover hope”.
“In order to live the experience of the Jubilee in its fullness, as an experience of reconciliation and indulgence, that is, as an experience of a mercy that heals us not only from our sins (forgiveness of sins), but also from the consequences they produce in our lives in its eternal perspective (forgiveness of punishments), we Christians of the Holy Land are offered a pilgrimage to three special places. They are the places from which the hope of Christians around the world originates and is nourished: Nazareth (Basilica of the Annunciation), Bethlehem (Basilica of the Nativity) and Jerusalem (Basilica of the Holy Sepulcher-Anastasis). Throughout the year, let us try to be ourselves pilgrims to these places, as a community, as families and also in a personal way.”
“After briefly reflecting on the meaning of this Jubilee that reopens our hearts to the hope that does not confuse, deceive or disappoint, we want to invite all of you, brothers and sisters of the Holy Land, to live intensely this Jubilee year, to participate in the pastoral and spiritual initiatives that will be proposed in your respective communities.”
By custodia.org
