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A renowned Catholic Archbishop in Kenya has described the Upcoming Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year as “a time of renewal, mercy, solidarity”.  The Correspondent of RECOWACERAO NEWS AGENCY based at the city of the Vatican gathered that the upcoming Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year will readily provide an opportunity for the people of God to seek renewal and mercy as well as show solidarity towards one another, Archbishop Philip Subira Anyolo of the Catholic Archdiocese of Nairobi (ADN) in Kenya has said.

In his Pastoral Letter for the Nativity of the Lord 2024 that the media obtained on December 14, Archbishop Anyolo reflects on the significance of the 2025 Jubilee Year and its relevance amid a variety of challenges locally and across the globe.

The 2025 Jubilee Year, Archbishop Anyolo says, “It is an invitation to deepen faith, promote justice, care for the environment, and embrace a spirit of global community. Pope Francis describes the year as a chance to proclaim hope, rediscover trust in God, and work toward unity and peace.”

Pope Francis announced the start of a Year of Prayer on January 21 in preparation for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his Pontificate after the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015.

The Holy Father said the 2025 Jubilee Year will be “a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world.”

“I ask you to intensify your prayer to prepare us to live this event of grace well and to experience the power of God’s hope. That is why today we begin a Year of Prayer,” he said in his January 21 Angelus address about the Catholic Church’s Jubilee set to begin on Christmas Eve 2024 and conclude on 6 January 2026 under the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope”.

Months later, on the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on May 9, the Holy Father solemnly proclaimed the upcoming Jubilee Year 2025 at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica, during which he delivered the Bull of Indiction of the planned Jubilee, “Spes non confundit” (Hope does not disappoint).

The Jubilee Year provides the people of God across the globe an opportunity to participate in various planned jubilee events at the Vatican and in their respective Episcopal Sees and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL).

In his Pastoral Letter, Archbishop Anyolo says ADN has chosen the theme for the Year 2025, “Strengthening Faith in Families through Small Christian Communities (SCCs) as Pilgrims of Hope for the Jubilee Year (Hebrews 11:1).”

He goes on to reflect on the importance of SCCs in fostering hope and unity among the faithful.

“Strengthening faith in families and being pilgrims of hope in this world overwhelmed by tragic situations is our task as well. Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen,” he adds.

Drawing on Pope Benedict XVI’s teachings, the Local Ordinary of Nairobi reflects on the connection between faith, hope, and love.

“Faith assures us of God’s promises, even when circumstances seem dire, while hope sustains us through trials. The one who has hope lives differently; the one who hopes has been granted the gift of a new life,” he says.

The Kenyan Catholic Church leader also reminded the people of God of the transformative nature of the Christian faith, urging them to live as “ambassadors of the Prince of Peace.”

“The assurance and conviction described in Hebrews 11:1 led Christians to work for justice, charity, and the spread of the Gospel, trusting in God’s ultimate victory,” Archbishop Anyolo says.

Reflecting on the Feast of the Nativity of the Lord, Archbishop Anyolo says, “For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government will be upon his shoulder.”

He adds, “This prophecy, written in a time of spiritual decline and external threats, promises a future king who brings justice, peace, and salvation.”

Archbishop Anyolo further notes that these promises remain relevant today amid global conflicts and hardships.

“As we look around and read the news, we realize that the world at large is in a critical situation – the war between Ukraine and Russia; between Israel and Hamas; between Israel and Hezbollah; internal conflicts in Sudan – seem not to end.  In our own country Kenya, we are facing serious problems and hardships, including a culture of deceit and repression that has gripped the Nation,” he laments.

These challenges, he says, call for renewed hope in God’s sovereignty and justice.

“Amidst the uncertainties of our lives, we must persevere joyfully, for we know that the Lord will never abandon His people,” Archbishop Anyolo says.

Rev. Fr. George Nwachukwu
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