Christians must resist allure of power, serve humanity, pope says at end of Holy Year

Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez delivers the homily as he celebrates the closing Mass of the Jubilee Year on Dec. 28 at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston. (Photo by James Ramos/Herald)

U.S. bishops underscore virtue of hope as 2025 Jubilee Year closes in dioceses

VATICAN CITY (CNS/OSV News) — The powerful and violent cannot control, suppress or commodify God’s grace, friendship and will to usher in a new dawn, Pope Leo XIV said.

“Around us, a distorted economy tries to profit from everything. We see how the marketplace can turn human yearnings of seeking, traveling and beginning again into a mere business,” he said, celebrating Mass in St. Peter’s Basilica Jan. 6, the feast of the Epiphany, and officially closing the celebration of the Holy Year dedicated to hope.

“Let us ask ourselves: has the Jubilee taught us to flee from this type of efficiency that reduces everything to a product and human beings to consumers?” he asked. “After this year, will we be better able to recognize a pilgrim in the visitor, a seeker in the stranger, a neighbor in the foreigner and fellow travelers in those who are different?”

Before the Mass, the pope, cardinals and bishops present in Rome, gathered in the atrium of the basilica and gave thanks to God for the gifts received during the Holy Year. Dozens of the world’s cardinals were in Rome to attend the pope’s first extraordinary consistory from Jan. 7 to 8, to pray, support and advise the pope on the life and mission of the Church.

Pope Leo XIV closes the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica on Jan. 6 at the Vatican, marking the official end of the Jubilee Year. (CNS photo/Vatican Media)Pope Leo went to the threshold of the Holy Door and pulled each side shut. The door will be sealed until the next Holy Year, which is likely to be 2033, the 2,000th anniversary of the death and resurrection of Jesus.

While the last of the Holy Doors in the city was closing, “the gate” of God’s mercy will never be shut, Pope Leo said before shutting the door. God “will always sustain the weary, raise up those who have fallen,” and offer “good things” to those who place their trust in Him.

In his homily, Pope Leo compared the millions of men and women who came to Rome on pilgrimage to modern-day Magi, “who left palace and temple behind” in search of a new “king,” which they found in the baby Jesus in a humble grotto in Bethlehem.

“Yes, the Magi still exist today. They are the people who sense the need to go out and search, accepting the risks associated with their journey, especially in a troubled world like ours that may be unpleasant and dangerous in many ways,” he said.

However, Pope Leo cautioned, today’s seekers must encounter in today’s churches and sacred places the same humble source of life, hope and joy that the Magi encountered in Bethlehem.

“How important it is that those who pass through the doors of the church perceive therein that the Messiah has just been born, that a community gathers in which hope springs forth, and that a story of life is unfolding!” he said.

“Jesus encountered and allowed himself to be approached by all people,” he said, because “the Lord wants his presence to grow among us as God-with-us.”

U.S. celebrations bring Jubilee Year to a close

Masses held at cathedrals on the feast of the Holy Family Dec. 28 marked the closing of diocesan celebrations of the Jubilee Year of Hope, which began at the Vatican Dec. 24, 2024. Bishops opened the year in their dioceses Dec. 29, 2024.

In the U.S., bishops gave thanks for the graces of the Holy Year and reflected on the importance of hope. Pope Francis assigned the theme “Pilgrims of Hope” to the ordinary Jubilee Year in “Spes Non Confundit,” a declaration known as a papal bull, announcing the Holy Year issued May 9, 2024.

The Archdiocese of Galveston-Houston marked the end of the Jubilee Year on Dec. 28 with Masses celebrated by Archbishop Joe S. Vásquez and Auxiliary Bishop Italo Dell’Oro at the Co-Cathedral of the Sacred Heart in Houston and St. Mary Cathedral Basilica in Galveston. In Houston, the Mass was packed, with more than 1,200 in attendance, many standing along the sides of the co-cathedral.

In his homily, Archbishop Vásquez quoted Pope Leo, who Dec. 20 said that “the hope this year has given us does not end.”

A jubilee year, also known as a holy year, is ordinarily held every 25 years as a time of repentance and mercy. It includes pilgrimages, especially to Rome. Over the course of the year, millions of pilgrims visited Rome to walk through Holy Doors designated at the city’s four major basilicas: St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul’s Outside the Walls in Rome. Some planned their travels to coincide with particular Vatican celebrations, such as of youth, families and athletes, designed to include an audience with the pope.

Before his final illness and death in April 2025, Pope Francis greeted communication professionals gathered in January for the Jubilee of the World of Communication. After his election in May 2025, Pope Leo XIV continued to hold audiences with jubilee event attendees.

Meanwhile, dioceses worldwide designated holy sites, including their cathedrals, as local pilgrimage designations for the Holy Year. 

Vatican sees record number of visitors during Jubilee year, officials say

An estimated 33 million visitors and pilgrims came to the Vatican to celebrate the Jubilee Year, exceeding early forecasts, Vatican officials said Jan. 5. 

Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization’s section for new evangelization and chief organizer of the 2025 Holy Year, said the figure is based on estimates from a study by Roma Tre University, online registrations for the Holy Year, and the number of people who passed through the Holy Doors of Rome’s major basilicas and attended papal events. 

By the time the Holy Year ended Jan. 6, he said, at least 33 million people will have taken part, which breaks down to more than 90,000 people a day. The period with the most pilgrims in Rome was during the Jubilee of Young People from July 21 to Aug. 10, which registered more than 13 million people. 

Early estimates had expected that the Jubilee Year would bring 30 million to 35 million visitors to the Vatican. The city saw about 22 million people come to Rome in 2024, Roberto Gualtieri, mayor of Rome, said during the news conference. 

Based on data collected solely from registered pilgrims, visitors from the U.S. ranked second only to Italy, accounting for nearly 13% of the total number of registered visitors, Archbishop Fisichella said. Pilgrims from more than 185 countries participated in the Jubilee Year.