Pope Francis called on Christians to be “builders of hope” during the official proclamation of the Jubilee of 2025 on May 9 in Rome.
He spoke after presiding over a ceremony at St. Peter’s Basilica, where he delivered the Bull of Indiction, emphasizing the importance of proclaiming and celebrating Jesus Christ’s resurrection and the hope it brings.
The theme of the Jubilee year, which will begin on December 24, 2024, is “Pilgrims of Hope.” Pope Francis emphasized that Christian hope, based on Christ’s resurrection, should be shared worldwide throughout the Jubilee.
“Brothers and sisters, Jesus destroyed our death, that we might receive life, forever,” he said, adding that Christian hope is not simple optimism or an expectation of short-term benefits but a daily gift given by God.
Reflecting on Christian hope, he said it sustains people through difficult times, helping them envision future possibilities, and “makes us see the promise of good at times when evil seems to prevail.”
He encouraged the faithful to be “singers of hope in a world marked by too much despair,” particularly in a society often focused on the present and unable to look toward the future.
Pope Francis also spoke about the global need for hope, not only for humanity but also for God’s creation, which has been “gravely damaged and disfigured by human selfishness.”
He also noted that hope is crucial for the Church to remember that, “as the Bride of Christ, she is loved with an eternal and faithful love, called to hold high the light of the Gospel, and sent forth to bring to all the fire that Jesus definitively brought to the world.”
“May the Lord, risen from the dead and ascended into heaven, grant us the grace to rediscover hope, to proclaim hope, and to build hope,” he said.
