Jubilee

JUBILEE. - The year of the J. is so called in the Mosaic books, and allegorically in the prophetic books (Ex. 46, 17), the year of remission (Septuagint: ἕως τῆς ἀφῆσαις), which was provided for every 50th year, and produced the restoration of full social normality, in the first place the remission of debts and the liberation of slaves. In Catholic penitential discipline the term was adopted with a purely spiritual meaning, and implies the remission of sins and liberation from the penalties due to divine justice.

I. HEBREW JUBILEE.

From the Hebrew jōbhēl "ram's horn," inasmuch as the announcement of the J. was given by the priests to the sound of a ram's horn. At the end of the last year of each cycle of 7 sabbatical years the sound of the horn announced the beginning of the fiftieth year, that is, of the jubilee year. At the end of each seven-year period the act of remission was associated with it, which entailed that every creditor remit, literally "cause to fall," whatever he had lent to his neighbor, to his coreligionist. The year of remission also entailed the liberation of Hebrew slaves (Deut. 15, 12). Israel, a slave, had been liberated by the Lord (v. oō'ēl) and the example of God was to be followed by his faithful.

At the end of seven seven-year periods, in the seventh month of the religious year, the first of the civil year, which began in the second half of September, on the day of atonement (v.), the blast of the trumpet resounded throughout the Holy Land. Thus there began, as for every seventh year, a sabbatical year. "A jubilee shall the fiftieth year be for you: you shall not sow, nor reap the aftergrowth of that year, nor gather the grapes of the untended vineyard, because it is a J., a sacred time for you; but you may eat the produce taken from the field, that is, you may eat the spontaneous produce that sprouts from the roots or from the grains that fell the previous year" (Lev. 25, 11 ff.). Such spontaneous produce was not to be amassed in the granaries, but could be gathered little by little by everyone: by the owner, but also by anyone and, naturally, in the first place by the indigent. The seventh year and the jubilee year were thus a practical application of the principle that the land belonged to the Lord and therefore to all.

The jubilee year furthermore meant the proclamation of liberty to all the inhabitants of the country and the proclamation of reinstatement in one's own goods, without however preventing, in the years preceding the J., transactions of free buying and selling, inasmuch as the transactions were carried out taking into account the greater or lesser proximity of the jubilee year. The restoration of landed property in the seventh year and in the jubilee year and other juridical institutions of the kind were based on the principle that the inhabitants and owners of the fields were "protected and dependents of the Lord" (Lev. 25, 23 ff.).

With the institution of the seventh and fiftieth year "the imbalance in the distribution of lands and in the social classes was remedied. In practice some trace of these institutions is found among the Hebrews before the exile; but after the exile there is no memory that the law of the J. was ever observed. On the other hand, the sabbatical year was in full force until the destruction of the Jewish State (70 A.D.)" (A. Vaccari).

St. Paul makes known in I Cor. 7, 20 ff. his ideas concerning slaves and free men: it is not the seventh year or the J. that makes man free, but the call of the Lord.

Eugenio Zolli

II. ORDINARY CHRISTIAN JUBILEE (HOLY YEAR).

I. NOTIONS

In its essence, according to the theological concept, the Jubilee is defined as: a solemn plenary indulgence granted by the Roman pontiff with special faculties attached for confessors in favor of the faithful who gain the Jubilee.

Considered in its duration, that is, the year during which the jubilee indulgence may be acquired, the Jubilee is commonly called Holy Year; and this not only because it begins, unfolds and concludes with solemn sacred rites, but also because it is destined to promote holiness of morals (apostolic constitution Infinita Dei misericordia of 29 May 1924, in AAS, 16 [1924], p. 209).

The Jubilee can be: ordinary, that is, greater, and extraordinary, that is, lesser; the first is the one proclaimed in Holy Years; the second is usually proclaimed for some event of particular importance.

II. HISTORY

The Jubilee, as it was in use in the Church from 1300 onward, did not emerge already fully formed in all its parts according to the preordained prescriptions of an ecclesiastical superior. Having arisen under the influence of popular devotion, it later felt through the centuries various influences that gradually transformed its outward manifestations, while always maintaining its original character. Its necessary prerequisites were the indulgence, of which the prototype was that granted for the Crusade, and the pilgrimage to the most venerated sanctuaries and especially to the tombs of the apostles Peter and Paul. The one and the other element are in close relation to the penitential forum in order of absolution from sins and the graver censures and to satisfaction for the corresponding canonical penalty. It cannot be denied, however, that there was also a distant reference to the ancient Hebrew G., which was, however, of an entirely different nature; but more directly its rise was prepared by those penitential movements with a Joachimite background that are noted, especially in Italy, from 1260 onward. On the evening of the first day of 1300 an imposing multitude of people rushed into the basilica of St. Peter in the conviction of gaining an extraordinary indulgence, and the phenomenon was repeated in the following days. Appeal was then made to an ancient tradition, according to which the centenary year was to be considered a year of universal pardon; but in the Roman Curia no memory of this was found. In any case, on 22 Feb. Boniface VIII issued from St. Peter a bull by which every hundred years there was to be a universal G. with liberation from guilt and from penalties pro poenitentibus et confessis who had made 30 visits, if Romans; 15, if foreigners, to the Vatican and Ostian Basilicas. This G. had wide resonance throughout Europe, which sent to Rome crowds of pilgrims, who were the object of papal solicitude as regards protection and provisioning.

In the autumn of 1342 a delegation of Romans asked Clement VI, who was at Avignon, to grant the G. every 50 years, in order to open to a greater number of the faithful the possibility of gaining it. Indeed the Pope granted it for 1350; but he did not leave Avignon to hasten to Rome as the Romans hoped; while the spectacle was repeated of the countless pilgrims who came from every quarter to gain the pardon.

In the full period of the schism and certainly in the hope of restoring to unity the scattered members of the Church, in 1389 Urban VI from Rome established that, in memory of the years of Jesus' mortal life, the G. should be celebrated every 33 years, and he indicted it for the following year; and since to the visit to the two apostolic Basilicas that to the Lateran Basilica had been added, Urban decided that the Liberian Basilica should also be visited; so that in this way the complete number of basilicas to be visited was obtained. Owing to the death of Urban, it was his successor Boniface IX who celebrated that G., despite the wrath of the Avignon antipope. However, a rushing of pilgrims also occurred in 1400, that is, at the expiry of the term established by Clement VI, and Boniface IX himself confirmed the pardon also for that year. Although the 33 years of Urban VI had passed by two years, Martin V, the schism now extinguished and Rome pacified, in 1425 celebrated the G. again, and for the occasion had the holy door of St. John Lateran opened; this is the first time that mention is made of such a ceremony.

Despite anxieties over the Turkish danger and the spread of a pestilence, Nicholas V was able in 1450 to celebrate the G. with extraordinary solemnity and attendance, and it was given particular luster by the canonization of St. Bernardino of Siena, most popular throughout Italy. In 1470 Paul II thought of shortening still further the period for future G. and limited it to 25 years (Ineffabilis Providentia, 17 Apr. 1470: Bullarium Romanum, ed. Torinese, V, Turin 1860, pp. 200-203); therefore the new G. was celebrated by Sixtus IV in 1475, but it left no echo in history. It fell to Alexander VI to celebrate the G. in the centenary year 1500, and he prepared it with great care and propriety, preserving that ceremonial which is still observed in its general lines: he established in fact that the holy door should be opened in all four patriarchal Basilicas; and reserving that of St. Peter for himself, he deputed three cardinals who, as legates, should open the other three at the same time, fixing the rites and the prayers.

Despite the religious struggles that troubled the Church during the 16th century, the G. were celebrated regularly at their due time; in particular that of 1575, in full fervor of religious restoration, proved solemn for the number of pilgrims, for the assistance rendered to them, for the processions, the preachings and the special sermons of piety. There has by now also been introduced that pomp which, without harming the spiritual interiority, helped to maintain according to the customs of the time the popular character that the G. had from the very beginning. And with this character the G. were then celebrated in the 17th and 18th centuries; but the troubles created by the French Revolution and by the wars that were its consequence prevented the celebration of the G. in the centenary year 1800; and for a moment it was doubted whether it should be celebrated in 1825; it was claimed that the spirit of the times was too adverse to manifestations of this kind; but Leo XII overcame all uncertainty and the G. was celebrated according to the traditional customs; but it was the only one in the 19th century, owing to political movements. Leo XIII wished the series to be resumed in 1900 in the traditional forms, which were then also observed by Pius XI in 1925 and by Pius XII in 1950.

The supreme pontiff is moreover accustomed, once the Holy Year is closed in Rome, to extend the G. to the whole Christian world.

Pio Paschini

List of the Jubilees of the Holy Years.

1st 1300 Boniface VIII
2nd 1350 Clement VI
3rd 1390 Urban VI, Boniface IX
4th 1400 Boniface IX
5th 1425 Martin V
6th 1450 Nicholas V
7th 1475 Paul II, Sixtus IV
8th 1500 Alexander VI
9th 1525 Clement VII
10th 1550 (Paul III) Julius III
11th 1575 Gregory XIII
12th 1600 Clement VIII
13th 1625 Urban VIII
14th 1650 Innocent X
15th 1675 Clement X
16th 1700 Innocent XII, Clement XI
17th 1725 Benedict XIII
18th 1750 Benedict XIV
19th 1775 Clement XIV, Pius VI
1800, not held, Pius VI.
20th 1825 Leo XII
1850, not held, Pius IX
21st 1875, not held with the usual solemnities, Pius IX
22nd 1900 Leo XIII
23rd 1925 Pius XI
24th 1950 Pius XII

III. OBLIGATIONS AND CEREMONIES

The ordinary Jubilee begins in Rome with the first Vespers of the Nativity of the Lord (in memory of the beginning of the year a nativitate) of the immediately preceding year, on which day the opening of the holy door of the Vatican Basilica takes place, performed by the supreme pontiff, while at the same time three cardinals legates a latere proceed to the opening of the holy doors of the other three major basilicas of Rome, namely St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls: it continues throughout the whole year until the first Vespers of the same solemnity of Christmas.

So that the faithful may flock more numerously to Rome to gain the jubilee indulgence, all indulgences, both plenary and partial (with only a few exceptions), granted for the living are suspended for the duration of the Holy Year, but not those granted for the dead (apostolic constitution Fore confidimus of 10 July 1949, in AAS, 41 [1949], p. 337). Indeed, the same indulgences granted for the living can also be gained during that period of time, provided they are applied to the dead.

The usual conditions to be attached for the acquisition of the ordinary Jubilee are Confession, Communion, a visit to specified churches and the recitation of certain prayers.

The Confession required is a current one; therefore the one required for the other plenary indulgences, referred to in can. 931 § 3, does not suffice, nor does the annual or Easter Confession. It can in no way be dispensed from or commuted, not even when the penitent lacks the necessary matter. If, after making the Confession, one should fall back into mortal sin before having completed the last prescribed work, the Confession must be repeated only in the case where Communion still has to be received; otherwise an act of perfect contrition suffices. The Easter Communion does not suffice, unless it is a case of one who has neglected that precept; it does suffice, however, if received as Viaticum. It can be commuted only in the case of the sick who are unable to receive it.

In Rome, moreover, one must visit the four major basilicas named: outside Rome the designation of the churches is reserved to the Ordinaries of the place. In the episcopal city, among the churches to be visited there must be the cathedral church; in the rest of the diocese, the parish church. The visit entails entering the church, unless this is prevented either by the crowd or by the closing of the doors, in which case it is enough to pray in front of the church.

Special faculties are granted to local Ordinaries in favor of those who are prevented from carrying out such visits, e.g., nuns, the sick, prisoners, etc., or who carry out such visits collectively.

The prayers to be recited are not determined, but left to the choice of individuals, unless the pontifical document provides otherwise, as happened in the Jubilee of 1950, for which they were strictly established (apostolic constitution Iubilaeum maximum of 26 May 1949, in AAS, 41 [1949], pp. 258-59). Such prayers must be vocal, not merely mental, and, as a rule, are to be recited during the visit to the designated churches. When fasting is imposed, what is laid down by can. 1250 must be observed; eggs and dairy products are therefore not included, provided it is not the Lenten season. Everyone is bound to this fast, even those who by reason of age or for other reasons are dispensed from it, e.g., workers. For those, therefore, who cannot fast, commutation is required. Everyone is likewise bound to almsgiving, even the poor, who wish to gain the Jubilee. It can be commuted and can be performed by others, e.g., by the husband for the wife, by the father for the children, by the master for the servants, by the rich for the poor.

In the ordinary Jubilee, special faculties are granted to certain confessors, by virtue of which they can commute or reduce the works enjoined for obtaining the Jubilee, absolve from reserved sins and from censures, commute vows, dispense from irregularities and impediments in favor of the faithful who have the intention of gaining the Jubilee (apostolic constitution Decessorum Nostrorum of 10 July 1949, in AAS, 41 [1949], p. 340).

How many times the Jubilee may be gained depends on the will of the supreme pontiff.

Serafino de Angelis

III. EXTRAORDINARY CHRISTIAN JUBILEE.

Besides the ordinary Jubilees of the Holy Years, since the 16th century the custom arose of proclaiming extraordinary Jubilees in order to obtain, through prayers, fasts, good works and frequent reception of the Holy Sacraments, special help from God in difficult or delicate moments both for the Church universal and for particular Catholic nations, or for the beginning of a pontificate (in the 20th century the beginnings of pontificates no longer had Jubilees). The duration of these Jubilees varied (from a few days to two weeks, to a few months, to a year) and is always determined in the apostolic constitution that proclaims them. The beginning both in the City and outside it was generally marked by a solemn morning penitential procession; in Rome the pope took part in it with his whole court, and frequently it set out from S. Maria degli Angeli and ended at S. Maria Maggiore. Among the works prescribed were: the visit to the 4 basilicas or to some other church depending on the case, special prayers, fasts (three days: Wednesday, Friday and Saturday), almsgiving, Confession and Communion. Broad faculties were granted to confessors («semel tantum» for each penitent), including the cases contemplated in the bull that was read on «die Coenae Domini» (v. BULLA IN COENA DOMINI), and religious men and women could choose their confessor without the Superior's permission. Outside Rome the publication of the Jubilee was reserved to the Ordinary, who had to establish its contingent arrangements.

The plenary indulgence «ad instar» or «per modum», or «in forma Iubilaei», which in itself is nothing but a customary plenary indulgence, when the particular jubilee privileges are not attached to it, that is, the special faculties for confessors, cannot properly be considered an extraordinary Jubilee, like the indulgence «in forma iubilaei» granted by Gregory XVI (constitution Catholicae religionis, 22 Feb. 1842) to invite the faithful to pray for the sad conditions of the Church in Spain, without any mention of the said privileges. It becomes such, however, when the pontiff promulgates it solemnly with the aforementioned privileges, which are always indicated in the pontifical constitution.

There also exist certain local extraordinary Jubilees: at St. James of Compostela, when 25 July falls on a Sunday (cf. Leo XIII, Ubi primum, 1 Nov. 1884); in the primatial church of Lyon, when the feast of St. George falls on Good Friday and that of Corpus Christi coincides with the feast of St. John the Baptist, titular of the primatial church, which happens once every century; the last one, in 1943, was magnificent (cf. A. Sachet, Le grand jubilé séculaire de St-Jean de Lyon, 1451, 1546, 1666, 1734, Lyon 1886, jubilee year); in the church of Notre-Dame of Le Puy when the Annunciation (25 March) coincides with Good Friday; the last took place in 1932 (cf. A. Boudon, Le grand pardon de N.-D. et l'église du Puy 992-1921, Le Puy 1921, jubilee year). It was also believed in the late Middle Ages and later still that one could gain a particular plenary indulgence at Montmajour and at Comminges when the feast of the Invention of the Cross fell on a Friday, and at Einsiedeln when the feast of the dedication of the Church (14 Sept.) fell on a Sunday (cf. N. Paulus, Geschichte des Ablasses im Mittelalter, I, Paderborn 1922, p. 137; II, ibid. 1923, pp. 19, 327; id., Geschichte des Ablasses am Ausgange des Mittelalters, ibid. 1923, pp. 161, 188).

The list of extraordinary Jubilees that follows has been compiled from the Bullarium Romanum (the gaps in the various editions are the cause of many uncertainties) and from the Acta of Gregory XVI, Pius IX, Leo XIII and Pius X. It is understood that the extraordinary Jubilee is universal when there are no other specifications; for each Jubilee the pontifical constitution is indicated with its relevant date (outside Rome the Jubilee was proclaimed only when the bishop received the constitution, sometimes only a long time afterwards, so much so that certain Jubilees outside Rome were celebrated only the following year) and the reason for its granting.

Pius IV. Spiritus Omnipotentis Dei, 15 Nov. 1560: prayers for the continuation of the Council of Trent (cf. St. Ehses, Concilium Tridentinum, VIII [V of the Acta], Freiburg im Br. 1919, pp. 100-102). Note that the indulgence is not called «in forma Iubilaei», but Pius IV attached to it the jubilee privileges for the faculties for confessors.

Pius V. Cum gravissima, 9 March 1566: union of the faithful and defense of Christendom against the Turks.

Sixtus V. Virium nostrarum, 25 May 1585: beginning of the pontificate.

CLEMENT VIII. Quam semper cordi, May 23, 1596: for France: preservation of the Catholic faith in the Kingdom. - Omne datum, Feb. 26, 1599: for the subjects of Philip III of Spain: just and faithful government of the Kingdom.

PAUL V. Quod in omni, June 28, 1605: beginning of the pontificate. — Benedictus Deus, Nov. 28, 1608: for the Maronites: election of a zealous patriarch. — Universo gregi, Oct. 10, 1609: for the subjects of the Kingdom of Poland: divine help for the needs of the Kingdom. — Pastoris aeterni, Oct. 13, 1610: for Peru: conversion of the infidels. — Ecce tribulationes, June 12, 1617: needs of the Church. — Dominus ac Deus, Jan. 13, 1619: needs of the Church.

GREGORY XV. Spiritus Domini, March 17, 1621: beginning of the pontificate. — Pastoris aeterni, Feb. 4, 1623: for the faithful of America.

URBAN VIII. Pastoralis officii, Aug. 31, 1627: for the faithful, subjects of the Ethiopian Empire. — Quod ab initio, Apr. 8, 1628: to thank God and ask for his help. — Irritatus assiduus, Oct. 22, 1629: God's help in the imminent dangers in various parts of the Catholic world. — Supplici Christi fidelium, Dec. 15, 1631: divine help for the needs of the Church. — Iteratis praecibus, March 23, 1634: to appease divine wrath and avert dangers from the Church, especially in Germany. — Apostolatus nobis, July 11, 1636: divine help. — Publicae quietis, March 3, 1638: for Italy and the adjacent islands: to obtain peace. — Suscitatis iam, Jan. 8, 1643: for Rome: to obtain peace. — Suscitatis iam, Dec. 12, 1643: for Rome: divine help.

INNOCENT X. Immensae Omnipotentis, Nov. 2, 1644: beginning of the pontificate. — Inter plurimus, March 2, 1648: for Rome: God's help. — Salvator et Dominus, Jan. 8, 1654: for the provinces of Belgium. — Salvator et Dominus, June 12, 1654: for the Indies.

ALEXANDER VII. Unigenitus Dei, May 14, 1655: beginning of the pontificate. — E suprema, July 21, 1656: Divine succor. — Ex quo humilitatem, March 2, 1661: God's help against the Turks. — Omnipotens Deus, Feb. 16, 1663: Divine succor. — Quod iam pluries, March 7, 1664: heavenly help against the Turks.

CLEMENT IX. Placuit ineffabili, June 18, 1664: beginning of the pontificate. — Cum nos, Feb. 4, 1669: for France: God's help against the Turks. — Ex iniuncti, May 6, 1669: for the Republic of Ragusa.

CLEMENT X. Cum inscrutabilis, June 16, 1670: beginning of the pontificate. — Inter gravissimus, Nov. 5, 1672: union of the Christian princes against the Turks.

INNOCENT XI. Onerosam curam, Sept. 11, 1681: divine help in the present needs of the Church. — In suprema, Aug. 11, 1683: God's help against the Turks.

ALEXANDER VIII. Coelestis Patrisfamilias, Dec. 11, 1689: beginning of the pontificate.

INNOCENT XII. Ad Catholicae Ecclesiae, Nov. 12, 1691: beginning of the pontificate. — Ubi primum, Dec. 8, 1693: peace among the Christian princes. — In sublimi, Dec. 4, 1695: peace among the Christian princes.

CLEMENT XI. In supremo, Feb. 25, 1701: beginning of the pontificate. — Ex eminenti, Dec. 2, 1706: peace among the Christian princes. — Ubi primum, May 31, 1715: divine help against the Turks and a happy outcome of the Venetian arms.

INNOCENT XIII. Superni dispositione, May 27, 1721: beginning of the pontificate.

BENEDICT XIII. Cum inscrutabilis, June 10, 1724 and Nuper per alias, July 24, 1724: beginning of the pontificate. — Cum iustus, Jan. 2, 1728: for Rome, Italy and the islands: God's help in present needs.

CLEMENT XII. Ubi primum, Sept. 9, 1730: beginning of the pontificate. — E sublimi, Feb. 29, 1732: for Rome, Italy and the islands: God's help in the grave calamities of the time. — Ecclesiae militantis, Dec. 4, 1734: universal peace. — Quam in omnibus, Apr. 25, 1739: for Italy: help against the Turks and against the plague.

BENEDICT XIV. Laetitia apostolica, Nov. 11, 1740: beginning of the pontificate. — In suprema, Nov. 20, 1744: for Italy and the islands: threat of the plague. — Cum multorum, Feb. 18, 1745: for France: threat of the plague.

CLEMENT XIII. Venimus in altitudinem, Sept. 11, 1758: beginning of the pontificate.

CLEMENT XIV. Cum a Deo, Dec. 22, 1769: beginning of the pontificate.

PIUS VI. Magna atque innumerabilia, Feb. 28, 1782: for those who perform good works from the 4th Sunday of Lent to Palm Sunday. — Quae causa, Nov. 24, 1792: for the dioceses of the Papal State: God's help.

PIUS VIII. In supremi, June 18, 1829: beginning of the pontificate.

GREGORY XVI. Plura post susceptam, Dec. 2, 1832: beginning of the pontificate.

PIUS IX. Arcano divinae Providentiae, Nov. 20, 1846: beginning of the pontificate. — Ex aliis Nostris, Nov. 21, 1851: to implore divine clemency. — Nemo certe ignorat, Apr. 11, 1869: Vatican Council. For the general Jubilee of 1850, not carried out because of the political situation, Pius IX granted the indulgence "in forma iubilaei".

LEO XIII. Pontifices Maximi, Feb. 15, 1879: first year of the pontificate. — Militans Iesu Christi, March 12, 1881: calamities of the Church and of the Apostolic See. — Quod auctoritate, Dec. 22, 1885: practice of the Christian virtues. — Magni commemoratio, Jan. 8, 1896: for France: 14th centenary of the Baptism of Clovis. — Monumenta pietatis, July 1, 1896: Eucharistic Congress of Orvieto.

PIUS X. Ad diem illum, Feb. 2, 1904: 50th anniversary of the proclamation of the Immaculate Conception; Universis Christi fidelibus, March 8, 1913: Constantinian centenary.

PIUS XI. Auspicantibus nobis, Jan. 6, 1929: his sacerdotal Jubilee — Quod nuper, Jan. 6, 1933: 19th centenary of the Redemption of mankind. Solemn, with the opening of the Holy Door. — See plates XLIX-L.

A. Pietro Frutaz