Originally published at National Catholic Register
EDITORIAL: Whether you travel to Rome or participate locally during the special celebration, God’s grace still flows to the faithful through his Church.
Much of the Catholic media is currently buzzing about the launch of the 2025 Jubilee, a once-every-quarter-of-a-century year of spiritual renewal that began on Christmas Eve when Pope Francis formally opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica.
The Holy Year, which is focused on the theme of hope, is expected to draw an estimated 32 million pilgrims to Rome over the next 12 months, and the Eternal City is already pulling out all the stops.
But if 32 million Catholics will be making the pilgrimage to Rome this year, that means more than 1 billion others will not. In other words, Jubilee 2025 festivities in Rome will include only 2.5% of the world’s faithful.
And if you’re part of the 97.5% of Catholics who won’t be making it to Rome, the Jubilee can seem a little over the top.
For most of the world’s 1.4 billion Catholics, factors like finances, work, and family obligations make the prospect of coming to Rome to participate in Jubilee 2025 in person simply unattainable.
But if a Roman
