The Vatican reveals the official Logo of the upcoming Jubilee Year due to be held in 2025 on the theme ‘Pilgrims of Hope’ and reflects on some of the Holy Year’s early initiatives and plans.
By Deborah Castellano Lubov
VATICAN CITY — The official Logo of the upcoming Jubilee due to be held in 2025 has been unveiled.
In a press conference held on Tuesday in the Sala Regia of the Vatican’s Apostolic Palace, the Vatican revealed the official Logo for the upcoming Jubilee year.
The then-Pontifical Council for the New Evangelization, now contained within the new Dicastery for Evangelization, was entrusted with coordinating the Holy See’s preparations for the Holy Year 2025 with the motto: “Pilgrims of Hope.”
The former Council’s President, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, revealed the logo and reminded that as preparations begin within the Church for the Holy Year, their Dicastery launched a competition, open to all, for the Logo’s creation.
A total of 294 entries were received from 213 cities and 48 different countries, he said, noting participants ranged in age from 6 to 83.
“In fact, many hand-drawn designs were received from children from all over the world, and it was really moving to go through these drawings which were the fruit of imagination and simple faith.”
During the judging, the works were identified only by a number so that the author remained anonymous.
On June 11th, Archbishop Fisichella submitted the three final projects to Pope Francis to select the one that struck him the most.
“After looking at the projects several times and expressing his preference, the project of Giacomo Travisani was chosen,” Archbishop Fisichella said.
Giacomo Travisani, present this evening, reflected on what motivated his submission. He said how he had imagined all people moving forward together, able to push ahead “thanks to the wind of Hope that is the Cross of Christ and Christ himself. “
Winning Logo
The Logo shows four stylized figures to indicate all of humanity from the four corners of the earth. They each embrace one another, indicating the solidarity and brotherhood that must unite peoples. The first figure is clinging to the Cross. The underlying waves are choppy to indicate that the pilgrimage of life is not always on calm waters.
Because often personal circumstances and world events call for a greater sense of hope, a description of the Logo says, the lower part of the Cross is elongated turning into an anchor, which dominates the movement of the waves.
Anchors often have been used as metaphors for hope.
The image shows how the pilgrim’s journey is not individual, but rather communal, with the signs of a growing dynamism that moves more and more toward the Cross.
“The Cross is not static,” Fisichella suggested, “but dynamic, bending toward and meeting humanity as if not to leave it alone, but rather offering the certainty of its presence and the reassurance of hope.”
The Jubilee 2025 Motto, Peregrinantes in Spem is also clearly visible in the color green.
Urgency to live Jubilee in light of hope
Archbishop Fisichella reflected on Jubilees and why the upcoming one is significant.
“Every Holy Year in the history of the Church,” he said, “has taken on its full meaning when it is placed within the historical context that humanity is experiencing at that time and particularly when it is able to read the signs of anxiety and unrest combined with people’s perceived expectations.
“The vulnerability experienced in recent years, together with the fear of the violence of wars,” he continued, “only makes the human condition more paradoxical: on the one hand, to feel the overwhelming power of technology which determines their days; on the other hand, to feel uncertain and confused about their future.”
“This has given rise to the urgency to live the upcoming Jubilee in the light of hope.”
In this context, Archbishop Fisichella reminded, “Pilgrims of Hope” was chosen for the Jubilee’s theme.
“It expresses the need to make sense of the present so that it can be preparatory for a real thrust into the future in order to embrace and respond to the various challenges that arise from time to time.”
Jubilees’ importance to life of the Church
In a recent letter addressed to Archbishop Fisichella, Pope Francis noted that “the Jubilee has always been an event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church.”
He recalled that ever since the year 1300, which marked the first Holy Year, “God’s holy and faithful people has experienced this celebration as a special gift of grace, characterized by the forgiveness of sins and in particular by the indulgence, which is a full expression of the mercy of God.”
In the Church, a Jubilee, or Holy Year, is a great religious event.
A Jubilee is “ordinary” if it falls after the customary 25-year period, and “extraordinary” when it is proclaimed by for some outstanding event.
The last ordinary Jubilee took place in the year 2000 during the pontificate of Pope St. John Paul I. In 2015, Pope Francis proclaimed an Extraordinary Holy Year of Mercy.
What to expect soon
After the summer, Archbishop Fisichella noted, the official Jubilee website and related app will be available.
“Both will be tools to help pilgrims participate fully in the proposed events, facilitating the spiritual and cultural experience of the city of Rome. In fact, in addition to the important Pilgrim’s Charter, the Jubilee portal will contain news, historical notes, practical information, services and multimedia tools, in ten languages available to the pilgrim and easily accessible for people with disabilities.”
The Dicastery is already envisioning major events, and highlighted that special attention will be given to the following categories: “Families, Children, Youth, Movements and Associations, Elderly, Grandparents, Disabled, Sports, Sick and Health Care, Universities, World of Work, Choirs and Choruses, Confraternities, Priests, Consecrated Persons, Eastern Catholics, Catechists, the Poor, Prisoners, and many others…”
A calendar will be ready by the end of the year so as to allow adequate organizational time for pilgrims and related agencies.
