Pilgrims of Hope

Looking back…

Twenty five years ago, I was a teenager preparing for my first Jubilee journey. I remember being a part of a choir for a big whole-school Mass, then the excitement about going to Rome and my first World Youth Day. I remember receiving my A Level results in Rome and celebrating with fellow pilgrims. As I look back, I’m so grateful for how brilliant my secondary school was at engaging students in celebrating the Jubilee Year and encouraging us to get involved. It was a significant catalyst in my faith journey.

I share more of the impact the Jubilee Year of 2000 had on my faith in our new Jubilee Journey: FOCUS resource for secondary schools – watch the trailer of the film below!

The Jubilee Year has begun

On Christmas Eve, the Jubilee Year 2025 got underway with Pope Francis opening the Holy Door in St Peter’s Basilica, Rome.

Closer to home, Bishop Marcus has invited schools in England and Wales to mark the beginning of the Jubilee Year on 24th January. The resources we are providing can fit into that celebration or be part of your ongoing plans for celebrating the Jubilee.

The individual stories explore themes such as food poverty, the challenges of life as a refugee, struggles with finances and debt, and the heartbreaking loss of a child. Yet, the golden thread weaving through all of these narratives is the enduring hope that faith can offer, no matter the circumstances.

A Journey of Hope

Pope Francis  reminds us too that hope must always take us on a journey. It links to the idea of pilgrimage. That’s true even of this Jubilee Year of 2025 which, the Pope says, will also guide our steps towards an even greater Jubilee year:

As part of the Jubilee Journey (secondary) and Jubilee Joy (primary) series, we are inviting schools to enter into this moment of history, this journey into the future, as Pilgrims of Hope.

Schools might want to offer opportunities for reflection, reconciliation, and renewal. Pope Francis says that pilgrims are invited to experience God’s grace through visits to holy sites, prayer and the celebration of the Sacraments, especially the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which is a key part of the transforming journey.

Signs of Hope

Next Pope Francis invites us to be witnesses of hope. “We are called to be tangible signs of hope for those of our brothers and sisters who experience hardships of any kind.” He suggests that we can be pilgrims of hope to prisoners, the sick, the young, migrants, the elderly and the poor in our locality. This is one of the great features of our Jubilee resources. We are offering schools practical  ways of praying and acting so as to become beacons of hope in their local community.

For example, in the Jubilee Journey: FALLOW resource for secondary schools, we’ve partnered with CAFOD and their Laudato Si resources, so students can further explore humanity’s impact on and responsibility for the Earth and its resources.

Anchored in Hope

In the conclusion of his letter, Pope Francis focuses on the ultimate reason for our hope:

Throughout Lent, the hope that Jesus offers, expressed in Gospel passages like the Raising of Lazarus, is a beautiful recurring theme throughout the Jubilee Joy primary prayer resources.

It was this Heavenly perspective that I was beginning to understand 25 years ago as a young pilgrim and that I hope many children and young people in our Catholic schools will discover during this Jubilee Year.

Watch below a clip from our first assembly resource, Jubilee Journey: FOCUS which is available now.