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The Jubilee in
Church History |
| 1300 |
On Christmas 1299, in the wake
of much suffering from war and plague, many people came to Rome, to repent
at the tombs of Sts. Peter and Paul. In response, Pope Boniface VII
proclaimed a "year of forgiveness of all sins". 1300 was thus
the first ordinary Jubilee year. |
| 1350 |
While the Apostolic See was in
Avignon, France (1305-1377), Pope Clement VI called for a Jubilee every
fifty years, marking 1350 as the time for the second. He also added St.
John Lateran to the Basilicas of Sts. Peter and Paul to be visited by
jubilee pilgrims. Pope Urban VI increased the frequency of Jubilees to
every thirty-three years, according to Our Lord’s span of life on earth. |
| 1390 |
Accordingly Pope Boniface IX
opened the Holy Door Christmas Eve 1390. |
| 1400 |
But the number of pilgrims was
so great he called another Holy Year in 1400. |
| 1425 |
Pope Martin V proclaimed a Holy Year
twenty-five years later (rather than thirty-three), with a commemorative
Medal and the opening of a Holy Door in St. John Lateran. |
| 1450 |
Pope Nicholas V followed suit, calling
for a Holy Year in 1450, and in 1470 Pope Paul II fixed frequency at
every twenty-five years. |
| 1475 |
Accordingly, 1475 was proclaimed the
next Holy Year by Pope Sixtus IV, who ordered the building of the Sistine
Chapel and the Sixtus Bridge over the Tiber for the occasion. |
| 1500 |
For the eighth Jubilee, Pope Alexander
VI ordered the Doors in the four major basilicas to be opened at once, the
Pope himself opening the Holy Door of St. Peter’s. |
| 1525 |
The ninth jubilee was called by Pope
Clement VII with the Protestant Reformation on the horizon. |
| 1550 |
Proclaimed by Paul III, the next Holy
Year was opened by Pope Julius III, at which St. Philip Neri was present,
helping to assist with the massive influx of pilgrims. |
| 1575 |
The numbers increased. In the 11th
Holy Year, called by Pope Gregory VIII, as many as 300,000 pilgrims came
to Rome from all over Europe. |
| 1600 |
12th Jubilee, called by Pope Clement
VIII |
| 1650 |
13th Jubilee, called by Pope Urban VIII |
| 1675 |
14th Jubilee, called by Pope Clement X |
| 1700 |
To accommodate pilgrims to Rome, Pope
Innocent X established the Hospice St. Michele a Ripa, one of Rome’s
best known charitable institutions. |
| 1725 |
Similar institutions were opened to
accommodate pilgrims for the next Holy Year, called by Pope Benedict XIII. |
| 1750 |
In the 17th Holy Year, called
by Pope Benedict XIV, St. Leonard of Port Maurice set up the Stations of
the Cross in the ruins of the Coliseum. |
| 1775 |
Pope Clement XIV announced the Jubilee,
but the Holy Door was opened by his successor Pope Pius VI. Pope Pius VII
declined to call a Holy Year for 1800, while Napoleon ruled. |
| 1825 |
More than half a million pilgrims
journeyed to Rome for the 19th Holy Year, for which Pope Leo
XII substituted Santa Maria in Trastevere for St Paul’s as a pilgrimage
site, since the latter was being rebuilt after a fire. In 1850, unsettled
conditions in Rome, with the temporary exile of Pope Pius IX, prevented
calling a Holy Year. |
| 1875 |
Pope Pius IX did proclaim the next Holy
Year, even though the Holy Door was not opened due to the occupation of
Rome by King Vittorio Emmanuele. |
| 1900 |
At the 21st Jubilee, Pope Leo XIII
opened the 20th century with six beatifications and two
canonizations (St Jean Baptist de La Salle and St Rita of Cascia). |
| 1925 |
For the next Holy Year, Pope Pius XI
asked the faithful to pray for peace among peoples, in order to gain the
Jubilee Indulgence. |
| 1950 |
For the mid-20th century,
Pope Pius XII called for the following intentions: prayer and penance for
the sanctification of souls, unfailing faith in Christ and His Church,
action for peace and protection of the Holy Places, defense of the Church
against her enemies, prayers for faith to be given unbelievers and those
in error, promotion of social justice, and assistance of the poor and
needy. In the same Holy Year, the Pope defined the Assumption of Our Lady
as a dogma of the Catholic Faith. |
| 1975 |
The last ordinary Jubilee, called by
Pope Paul VI, had two main themes, Renewal and Reconciliation, to guide
the faithful toward the Third Millennium. |
