Preparations for the Holy Year of 2025, centered on the theme of hope, have been underway for months now and are proceeding well. To facilitate the estimated 32 million pilgrims anticipated to flock to Rome for this major ecclesial event, the official Jubilee website (www.iubilaeum2025.va) was launched on 10 May 2023. The portal, accessible in 9 languages, offers key information for learning about the Holy Year. It is a window on the Jubilee that is agile and easy to use for everyone: children, youth and adults.
At a recent press conference, Archbishop Rino Fisichella, Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, presented the winner of the competition for the official Jubilee Hymn. The text was written by Italian theologian and musicologist Pierangelo Sequeri and set to music by Francesco Meneghello from Mantua, Italy. The winning hymn was one of the 270 songs submitted by contestants from 38 countries. A taped recording of the hymn, sung by the Sistine Choir, was played for those who attended the press conference, and the journalists present reported that it is an evocative and engaging work that is easy to learn but by no means trivial in either text or music.