Pope Francis Proclaims a Jubilee On April 11, 2015, Divine Mercy Sunday, Pope Francis proclaimed that the Church would celebrate an extraordinary Jubilee. The Jubilee Year of Mercy will commence Tuesday, December 8, 2015 – the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary. It will conclude on November 20, 2016 – the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, the King of the Universe.

The Roman Catholic Church has commemorated Jubilees every 25 or 50 years since the 13th century. The last Jubilee Year occurred in the year 2000, and the last extraordinary Jubilee occurred in 1983.

Pope Francis surprised the worldwide Church with this announcement through an official proclamation called the Bull of Indication of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, Misericordiae Vultus (the face of mercy).

The theme of the Jubilee is Mercy. Pope Francis invites each and every one of us to “constantly contemplate the mystery of mercy.” (Misericordiae Vultus, 2) He invites every member of the Church, young and old, to join in this spiritual journey into the heart of mercy.