BRAINTREE -- On the Sunday after Christmas, the Archdiocese of Boston will join the Holy Father and the rest of the Catholic Church in celebrating a Jubilee Year, titled "Pilgrims of Hope," that will run through 2025.

All of the archdiocese's ministries are currently working to prepare for the yearlong celebration.

"For a Jubilee Year, we offer more opportunities for people to encounter the Lord at adoration and Mass and confession," Archdiocese of Boston Director of Faith Formation and Missionary Discipleship Patrick Krisak told The Pilot on Dec. 18, adding: "It's really meant to be a hopeful and joyous occasion for people to renew their commitment to Christ and invite others to do so as well."

The Jubilee Year will begin in Boston on Dec. 29 at 11:30 a.m., when Archbishop Richard Henning will celebrate an opening Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Cross. The Mass will begin with a procession inside the cathedral ("because it's Dec. 29 in Boston," Krisak explained). There will also be an additional Gospel reading, a reading from the papal bull announcing the Holy Year, and the singing of a special Jubilee hymn. Archbishop Henning will also deliver a papal blessing for the year, which has an indulgence attached to it.

The Jubilee Year will officially begin in Rome on Christmas Eve, when Pope Francis will open the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica. Holy Doors will also be opened at Rome's other major basilicas: St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, and St. Paul Outside the Walls.

The Jubilee will continue in Boston until Archbishop Henning celebrates a closing Mass on Dec. 28, 2025. It will end in Rome on Jan. 6, 2026. Cathedrals and shrines throughout the world will be designated as pilgrimage sites, including several in the Archdiocese of Boston that will be announced in the coming weeks. These sites will have an extended schedule of Masses, confessions, adoration, and special Jubilee events.

Announcing the Jubilee in 2022, Pope Francis wrote that "we must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and charity by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and far-sighted vision."

Pope Francis added that the Jubilee "can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust" within the church.

"The source of our hope is Christ Jesus and the eternal life he has gained for us through his death and resurrection," Krisak said.

Thirty-four groups, from artists to workers to bishops to prisoners, will be recognized through prayer and special events worldwide throughout the year. The archdiocese is currently planning to reach out to those groups. Krisak said that specific plans for the Jubilee in Boston will be "ironed out" in the next four to six weeks. The archdiocese is working on a web page and informational documents about the pilgrimage sites and to educate parishes about what they can do to celebrate the special year.

"It's a great team effort," Krisak said. "It's a way to celebrate the work and recognize these different particular groups and the people who are doing ministry with or for them already. It's a great way to introduce Archbishop Henning to these ministries across the archdiocese."