Year of Mercy to make mission a priority

Archbishop Salvatore Fisichella on Tuesday presented the first detailed programme for the Jubilee Year of Mercy, emphasising its missionary purpose as well as its pastoral message.

The year will call the Church “once again to its missionary priority of being a sign and witness in every aspect of its pastoral life”, he said. Pope Francis charged Arch­bishop Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evan­gelisation, with chief responsibility for the year because he wanted an evangelical drive that would “bring to every person the gospel of mercy”.

The year will be celebrated in the local Churches as well as Rome, so as to “blend into their calendars and usual activities very naturally”. For the first time in the Jubilee tradition, there will be an opportunity for individual dio­ceses to open a holy door, the Door of Mercy, in the cathedral or a church of special significance.

Drawing on Francis’ apostolic exhortation Evangelii Gaudium and the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee, Misericordiae vultus, the archbishop set a calendar for three types of event in Rome between the opening of the holy door of St Peter’s Basilica on 8 December, the  Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception, and 20 November 2016, Solemnity of Christ the King, which will end the Year.

Some events will likely involve large crowds of people, he said. The first of these from 19-21 January 2016 will be dedicated to all those involved with the ­organisation of pilgrimages, “symbolically emphasising that the Holy Year is a true pilgrimage”. 

On 3 April there will be a cele­bration for those movements, associations and religious institutes inspired by a charism of mercy. On 4 September, charit­able volunteers will gather from all over the world. For those who are inspired in a particular way by Mary, there will be a special day on 9 October to celebrate her as the Mother of Mercy. Among events dedicated particularly to youth, 24 April will be for young people between 13 and 16.

The Jubilee for deacons will be held on 29 May and on 3 June, which marks the 160th anniversary of the Feast of the Sacred Heart of Jesus, there will be a Jubilee celebration for priests.

On 25 September there will be the Jubilee of catechists and, on 12 June, a large gathering for the sick and disabled. On 6 November the Jubilee for those in prison  may give prisoners the opportunity to celebrate their own Holy Year with Pope Francis in St Peter’s Basilica.

A second category of events will involve reaching out locally and in Rome to those on the “existential peripheries” – the poor and the marginalised. Thirdly, a number of churches in the centre of Rome will be welcoming points for the many pilgrims who will come to the city alone. The official website for the Jubilee is www.iubilaeummisericordiae.va