Pope Calls for ‘God’s Mercy’ at Start of Yearlong Jubilee – The New York Times

Since 1300, Jubilee years have been celebrated at 25- or 50-year intervals, with the occasional extraordinary Jubilee, like this one. Francis called for this Jubilee to highlight the world’s need for mercy, “the revolution of tenderness,” the pope said in an interview this month with the Italian magazine Credere.

“It is the year of forgiveness, the year of reconciliation,” he said.

For the first time, too, the Jubilee is focused not only on Rome but also on local places of worship, in keeping with the pope’s instruction that bishops open Holy Doors in cathedrals around the world so that the faithful can participate in the celebrations without traveling to Vatican City.

The ceremony on Tuesday formally opened celebrations of the Jubilee, which ends on Nov. 20, 2016, but the pope had already opened another Holy Door during his trip to Africa last month, proclaiming Bangui, the capital of the Central African Republic, “the spiritual capital of the world.”

Source: Pope Calls for ‘God’s Mercy’ at Start of Yearlong Jubilee – The New York Times