Rome Jubilee 2025: Experience the Holy Year in the Eternal City

The Jubilee – usually known as the Vatican Jubilee – occurs once every 25 years. For Catholics this marks 2025 as a year for heightened spirituality, repentance and forgiveness. Its also a time for plenary forgiveness, a chance to seek redemption for future sins and transgressions. Rome’s four papal basilicas become places of worship to visit as part of the religious process, but its worth remembering these are also popular destinations for tourists too.

The theme for this years Jubilee is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. At a time of global divisions, war, climate change and political upheaval – all issues Pope Francis has spoken about at great length – pilgrims will arrive throughout the year for a number of events. There will be certain diocese beyond Rome that will be designated places of worship too, allowing those who are unable to travel the chance to observe some of the rituals within their local communities.

The papal basilicas (or “major basilicas”) of Rome are four ancient churches granted special ceremonial status by the Pope. These sacred sites hold immense spiritual, historical, and architectural significance in Catholicism. Each basilica is linked to a Holy Door, and these are opened only during Jubilee years for pilgrims. Passing through it represents a tangible sign of conversion and the journey toward salvation. The opening rite will begin with the Holy Door of St. Peter’s, followed by the other basilicas in the days after. The Holy Doors are sealed until the next Jubilee.

Here’s a look at where the four Holy Doors are located and what makes each of these locations so special.

The largest church in the world, built atop the tomb of St. Peter, the first Pope. Designed by Renaissance masters like Michelangelo (dome) and Bernini (baldachin), it houses iconic art, including Michelangelo’s Pietà. A centrepiece of Catholicism and the Vatican, its grandeur embodies the Church’s spiritual and temporal power.

The “Mother of All Churches,” this is Rome’s cathedral and the Pope’s official seat as Bishop of Rome. Founded in the 4th century by Emperor Constantine, it boasts awe-inspiring Baroque interiors, ancient relics (said to include the heads of Saints Peter and Paul), and the Scala Sancta (Holy Stairs), believed to be from Jesus’ trial in Jerusalem. Located in Piazza di San Giovanni in Laterano this is the oldest site for one of the Holy Doors.

Built over the tomb of St. Paul the Apostle, this basilica blends ancient and neoclassical styles. Nearly destroyed by fire in 1823, it was rebuilt using original materials. Its serene cloisters, 5th-century mosaics, and portrait medallions of every Pope (from St. Peter to today) create a tangible link to apostolic tradition.

he only major basilica dedicated to the Virgin Mary, it’s famed for its stunning 5th-century mosaics depicting biblical scenes and a relic of the Holy Crib (wooden fragments from Jesus’ manger). According to legend, snow miraculously marked its site in August 352 AD. Its golden ceiling, gilded with New World gold, reflects Rome’s Renaissance splendour.

Many visitors to Rome will have already seen these impressive buildings. They are popular sites but you can expect them to be even busier this year. It is expected that most of the city will see a surge in tourists in the summer months so you might be inclined to swerve the area and opt for other parts of Italy in the peak season. That said, there will be additional processions, sermons and vigils that will create a special atmosphere that won’t occur again until 2050.