- For other uses, see Jubilee (disambiguation)
The concept of the Jubilee is a special year of remission of sins and universal pardon. In
the Biblical book of Leviticus, a Jubilee year is
mentioned to occur every fifty years, in which slaves and prisoners would be freed, debts would be forgiven and the mercies of
God would be particularly manifest. In Christianity, the tradition dates to
1300, when Pope Boniface VIII convoked a holy year.
Christian Jubilees, particularly in the Catholic tradition, generally involve
pilgrimage to a sacred site, normally the city of Rome. At
various times in Church history, they have been celebrated every 50 or 25 years.
"Pre-History" of the Christian Jubilee
The year of Jubilee in both the Jewish and Christian traditions is a time of joy, the year of remission or universal
pardon. In Mosiac law, each fiftieth year was to be celebrated as a jubilee year, and that at
this season every household should recover its absent members, the land return to its former owners, the Hebrew slaves be set
free, and debts be remitted (see Jubilee (Biblical)).
The same conception, spiritualized, forms the fundamental idea of the Christian Jubilee, though it is difficult to judge how
far any sort of continuity can have existed between the two. It is commonly stated that Pope
Boniface VIII instituted the first Christian Jubilee in the year 1300, and it is certain that this is the first
celebration of which we have any precise record, but it is also certain that the idea of solemnizing a fiftieth anniversary was
familiar to medieval writers, no doubt through their knowledge of the Bible, long before that
date. The jubilee of a monk's religious profession was often kept, and probably some vague memory
survived of those Roman ludi saeculares which are commemorated in the "Carmen Saeculare" of Horace, even though this last was commonly associated with a period of a hundred years rather than any lesser
interval. But, what is most noteworthy, the number fifty was specially associated in the early thirteenth century with the idea
of remission. The translation of the body St. Thomas of Canterbury took place in the year
1220, fifty years after his martyrdom. The sermon on that occasion was preached by Stephen Cardinal Lantron, who told his hearers
that this coincidence was meant by Providence to recall "the mystical virtue of the number fifty, which, as every reader of the
sacred page is aware, is the number of remission."
We might be tempted to regard this discourse as a fabrication of later date, were it not for the fact that a Latin hymn
directed against the Albigenses, and certainly belonging to the early thirteenth century,
speaks in exactly similar terms. The first stanza runs thus:
- Anni favor jubilaei
- Poenarum laxat debitum,
- Post peccatorum vomitum
- Et cessandi propositum.
- Currant passim omnes rei.
- Pro mercede regnum Dei
- Levi patet expositum.
-
- (The blessing of the year of jubilee releases the obligation of punishments. After sinners have been purged, the cause
against them ends. All the guilty go free by the mercy of God's kingdom, as set forth in the law of Levi.)
In the light of this explicit mention of a jubilee with great remissions of the penalties of sin to be obtained by full
confession and purpose of amendment, it seems difficult to reject the statement of Cardinal Stefaneschi, the contemporary and counsellor of Pope Boniface VIII, and author of a treatise on the first Jubilee, that the proclamation of the
Jubilee owed its origin to the statements of certain aged pilgrims who persuaded Boniface that great indulgences had been granted to all pilgrims in Rome about a hundred years before. It is also noteworthy that
in the Chronicle of Alberic of Three Fountains, under the year 1208 (not, be it noted
1200), we find this brief entry: "It is said that this year was celebrated as the fiftieth year, or
the year of jubilee and remission, in the Roman Court."
The first Christian jubilee
It is beyond all dispute that on February 22, 1300,
Boniface published the Bull "Antiquorum fida relatio", in which, appealing vaguely the
precedent of past ages, he declares that he grants afresh and renews certain "great remissions and indulgences for sins" which are to be obtained "by visiting the city of Rome and the venerable
basilica of the Prince of the Apostles". Coming to more precise detail, he specifies that he
concedes "not only full and copious, but the most full, pardon of all their sins", to those who fulfill certain conditions. These
are, first, that being truly penitent they confess their sins, and secondly, that they visit the basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul in
Rome, at least once a day for a specified time--in the case of the inhabitants of the city for
thirty days, in the case of strangers for fifteen.
No explicit mention is made of Communion as a requirement to receive the indulgence, nor
does the word jubilee occur in the Bull--indeed the pope speaks rather of a celebration which is to occur every hundred
years--but writers both Roman and foreign described this year as annus jubileus, and the name jubilee (though
others, such as the "holy year" or "the golden year" have been used as well) has been applied to such celebrations ever since.
Dante, who is himself supposed by some to have visited Rome during this year to gain the
Jubilee indulgence, refers to it under the name Giubbileo in the Inferno and
indirectly bears witness to the enormous concourse of pilgrims by comparing the sinners passing along one of the bridges of
Malebolge in opposite directions, to the throngs crossing the bridge of the Castel
Sant'Angelo on their way to and from St. Peter's. Similarly, the chronicler Villani was so impressed on this occasion by the sight of the monuments of Rome and the people who
flocked thither that he then and there formed the resolution of his great chronicle, in the course of which he gives a remarkable
account of what he witnessed.
Villani describes the indulgence connected with this jubilee as a full and entire remission of all sins di culpa e di
pena (Italian: of guilt and of punishment), and he dwells upon the great
contentment and good order of the people, despite the fact that during the greater part of that year there were two hundred
thousand pilgrims on an average present in Rome over and above the ordinary population. With regard to the phrase just noticed,
a culpa et a poena (in Latin), which was often popularly used of the Jubilee and other
similar indulgences, it should be observed that it means no more than what is now understood by a "plenary indulgence". It
implied, however, that any approved Roman confessor had faculties to absolve from reserved cases (sins whose forgiveness can only
be granted by certain priests), and that the liberty thus virtually accorded of selecting a
confessor was regarded as a privilege. The phrase was an unscientific one, and was not commonly used by theologians. It certainly
did not mean, as some have pretended, that the indulgence of itself released from guilt (which could be punished by
Hell) as well as penalty (for sins already forgiven, usually removed in Purgatory). Guilt is actually remitted in the Catholic Church only in virtue of sacramental confession and the
sorrow of the penitent. The sovereign pontiff never claimed any power of absolving in grievous
matters apart from the sacrament. "All theologians", remarks Maldonatus, "unanimously
without a single exception, reply that an indulgence is not a remission of guilt but of the penalty."
The Jubilee of 1350
Boniface VIII had intended that the Jubilee should be celebrated only once in a hundred years. Some time before the middle of
the fourteenth century, great urgings, in which St. Birgitta of Sweden and the poet
Petrarch amongst others had a share, were made to Pope
Clement VI, then residing at Avignon, to anticipate this term. Clement VI assented, and
in 1350 accordingly, a Jubilee was held, though the pope did not return to Rome himself. Gaetani Cardinal Ceccano was dispatched to represent him.
On this occasion daily visits to the Basilica di San Giovanni in
Laterano were enjoined, besides those to the basilicas of St. Peter and St. Paul outside the Walls, while at the next
Jubilee, (in 1390) the Basilica di Santa Maria
Maggiore was added to the list. The visit to these four churches has remained as one of the conditions for gaining the
Roman Jubilee indulgence.
The Jubilees of 1390 and 1423
The celebration next following was held in 1390, and in virtue of an ordinance of
Pope Urban VI, it was proposed to hold a Jubilee every thirty-three years as representing
the period of the sojourn of Christ upon earth and also the average span of human life. In 1400, so
many people came to Rome, that Pope Boniface IX granted the indulgence again, even
though he had not decreed a Jubilee year previously.
Another Jubilee was proclaimed by Pope Martin V in 1423
(33 years after the last proclaimed Jubilee in 1390), but Pope Nicholas V, in
1450, reverted to the quinquagesimal period, while Pope Paul
II decreed that the Jubilee should be celebrated every twenty-five years, and this has been the normal rule ever
since.
Subsequent Jubilees
Souvenirs, the first two dated 1950, third one 1975 and the last one 2000.
The Jubilees of 1450 and 1475 were attended by vast crowds of pilgrims, and that of 1450 was
unfortunately made famous by a terrible accident in which nearly two hundred persons were trampled to death in a panic which
occurred on the bridge of Sant' Angelo. But even this disaster had its good effects in the pains taken afterwards to widen the
thoroughfares and to provide for the entertainment and comfort of the pilgrims by numerous charitable organizations, of which the
Archconfraternity of the Holy Trinity, founded by St. Philip Neri, was the most famous.
Innumerable witnesses have pointed to the great moral renovation produced by these celebrations. The testimony comes in many
cases from the most unexceptionable sources, and it extends from the days of Pope Boniface
VIII to the striking account given by Cardinal Wiseman of the only Jubilee held in the nineteenth century, that of
1825. The omission of the Jubilees of 1800 and 1850 was due to political disturbances. Pope Pius IX announced a Jubilee for
1875, but it was celebrated without any external solemnity, with only the clergy present for the inauguration. The holy doors
were not opened, and the pilgrims who came were generally in Rome to do homage to the Pope, who had not accepted the Italian
annexation of Rome, rather than to obtain an indulgence. Nonetheless, with these exceptions the celebration has been uniformly
maintained every twenty-five years from 1450 until the twentieth century. The Jubilee of
1900, though shorn of much of its splendour by the confinement of the Holy Father within the limits
of the Vatican, was, nevertheless carried out by Pope Leo XIII with all the solemnity that
was possible.
In the twentieth century, Jubilees were held in 1925, 1933 (in
commemoration of Jesus' death), 1950, 1975, 1983 (Holy Year of the Redemption) and 2000.
Pope Pius XII used the occasion of the 1950 jubilee to declare a new national anthem for the Vatican City.
The "Great Jubilee" of 2000
-
Pope John Paul II announced a Great Jubilee
for the year 2000 with his Apostolic Letter Tertio Millennio Adveniente (As the Third Millennium Approaches) of November 10, 1994. In this writing, he called for a three-year preparation period leading up to the opening of the Great Jubilee
in December 1999. The first year, 1997, was to be dedicated to meditation on Jesus, the second to the Holy Spirit, and the third to God the Father. This Jubilee was especially marked by a simplification of the rites and the requirements
for achieving the indulgence, as well as a huge effort to involve more Christians in the celebration.
Protestant Churches and the Orthodox were invited to
celebrate the Jubilee together with the Catholics as a sign of ecumenical dialogue.
Furthermore, special Jubilees were invoked for various groups within the Church, such as children, athletes, politicians, and
actors. World Youth Day, celebrated in Rome in August, brought over two million young
people together.
The Jubilee was closed by the pope on January 6, 2001, by the
closing of the holy door of St. Peter's and the promulgation of the Apostolic Letter Novo
Millennio Ineunte (Upon Entering the New Millennium), which outlined the pope's vision for the future of the
Church.
Ceremonial of the Jubilee
The most distinctive feature in the ceremonial of the Jubilee is the unwalling and the final walling up of the
"holy door" in each of the four great basilicas which the
pilgrims are required to visit. The doors are opened by the Pope at the beginning of the Jubilee and then sealed up again
afterwards. Previously, the rite included the use of a silver hammer (for removing the concrete at the opening) and a silver
trowel (for sealing it again after the Jubilee). The Pope would pound on the wall, which would then be set to collapse. This
ritual caused injury of bystanders, so for the Great Jubilee of 2000, Pope John Paul II simplified the rite considerably, opening and closing the doors with his hands.
Traditionally, the Pope himself opens and closes the doors of St. Peter's Basilica personally, and designates a
cardinal to open those of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul outside
the Walls. In the Great Jubilee, the Pope chose to open all the doors personally, while designating cardinals to close all the
doors except that of St. Peter's.
Catholic parishes all over the world share a similar rite dedicating a door for the purposes of the Jubilee Year in order to
accommodate its parishioners who do not intend to visit Rome for the occasion. Local parishes' doors include the same indulgence
given to the Basilica doors.
The Jubilee Indulgence
This is a plenary indulgence which, as stated by Pope
Boniface VIII in Consistory, it is the intention of the Holy See to grant in the most ample manner possible. Of course,
when first conceded, such an indulgence, and also the privilege annexed of choosing a confessor who had power to absolve from
reserved cases, was a much rarer spiritual boon than it has since become. So preeminent was the favor then regarded that the
custom arose of suspending all other indulgences during the Jubilee year, a practice which, with certain modifications, still
exists to the present day. The precise conditions for gaining each Jubilee indulgence are determined by the Roman pontiff, and
they are usually announced in a special Bull, distinct from that which it is customary to issue on the preceding feast of the
Ascension giving notice of the forthcoming celebration. The main conditions,
however, which do not usually vary, are five: confession, Communion, prayer for the Pope, complete renunciation of all attachment to sin, and visits to the four
basilicas during a certain specified period. (The first four are common to all plenary
indulgences.) The statement made by some, that the Jubilee indulgence, being a culpa et a paena, did not of old presuppose
either confession or repentance, is absolutely without foundation, and is contradicted by every official document preserved to
us. Besides the ordinary Jubilee indulgence, to be gained only by pilgrims who pay a visit to Rome, or through special concession
by certain cloistered religious confined within their monasteries, it has long been customary to extend this indulgence the
following year to the faithful throughout the world, though in 2000, the indulgence was extended to the whole world during the
Jubilee year itself. For this, fresh conditions are appointed, usually including a certain number of visits to local churches and
sometimes fasting or other works of charity. Further, the popes have constantly exercised their prerogative of conceding to all
the faithful indulgences ad instar jubilaei (after the model of a Jubilee) which are commonly known as "extraordinary
Jubilees". On these occasions, as at the Jubilee itself, special facilities are usually accorded for absolution from reserved
cases, though on the other hand, the great indulgence is only to be gained by the performance of conditions much more onerous
than those required for an ordinary plenary indulgence. Such extraordinary Jubilees are commonly granted by a newly elected
pontiff at his accession or on occasions of some unexpected celebration, as was done, for example, at the convening of the
First Vatican Council, or again at times of great calamity.
Pope John Paul II convoked Jubilees in 1983 (Holy
Year of the Redemption) and in 2000 (the Great Jubilee). In 2000, he greatly liberalized the
conditions for gaining the Jubilee indulgence. A visit to only one of the four patriarchal basilicas in Rome was necessary
(entering through the holy door). To the four baslicas were added the Sanctuary of Divine Love
in Rome, and each diocese was permitted to name a location within the diocese where the indulgence could be gained. For instance,
the diocese of Rome added the chapel in the airport at Fiumicino as a possible
pilgrimage site. Most dioceses simply named the local cathedral as the pilgrimage site. There
was no requirement for multiple visits. On the last full day of the Jubilee, pilgrims were permitted to enter the holy door at
St. Peter's until late into the night, so that no one would be denied the opportunity to gain the indulgence. The requirements of
confession, Communion, prayer for the Pope and freedom from all attachment to sin remained in place, as for all plenary
indulgences.
List of Known Jubilee Years
- 1300 : Pope Boniface VIII
- 1350 : Pope Clement VI
- 1390 : decreed by Pope Urban VI, presided by
Pope Boniface IX
- 1400 : Pope Boniface IX
- 1423 : Pope Martin V
- 1450 : Pope Nicholas V
- 1475 : decreed by Pope Paul II, presided by
Pope Sixtus IV
- 1500 : Pope Alexander VI
- 1525 : Pope Clement VII
- 1550 : decreed by Pope Paul III, presided by
Julius III
- 1575 : Pope Gregory XIII
- 1600 : Pope Clement VIII
- 1625 : Pope Urban VIII
- 1650 : Pope Innocent X
- 1675 : Pope Clement X
- 1700 : decreed by Pope Innocent XII, presided
by Pope Clement XI
- 1725 : Pope Benedict XIII
- 1750 : Pope Benedict XIV
- 1775 : decreed by Pope Clement XIV, presided by
Pope Pius VI
- 1825 : Pope Leo XII
- 1875 : Pope Pius IX (without great solemnity)
- 1900 : Pope Leo XIII
- 1925 : Pope Pius XI
- 1933 : Pope Pius XI
- 1950 : Pope Pius XII
- 1975 : Pope Paul VI
- 1983 : Pope John Paul II
- 2000 : Pope John Paul II
Initial text from 1910 Catholic Encyclopedia, with considerable editing
See also
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