 The official logo of the Great Jubilee of 2000 features its motto with the Latin meaning:Christ Yesterday, Today, Forever. | |
| Native name | Iubilaeum A.D. 2000 |
|---|---|
| Date | 24 December 1999 – 6 January 2001 (1999-12-24 –2001-01-06) |
| Duration | 380 days |
| Location | Worldwide |
| Website | www |
TheGreat Jubilee in 2000 was a major event in theCatholic Church, held fromChristmas Eve (24 December) 1999 toEpiphany (6 January) 2001. Like previousJubilee years, it was a celebration of themercy of God andforgiveness of sins. The major innovation in this Jubilee was the addition of many "particular Jubilees" for various groups of persons, and that it was simultaneously celebrated inRome, Israel, and elsewhere in the world.
Preparation for the Great Jubilee began whenPope John Paul II issued his Apostolic LetterTertio Millennio Adveniente (As the Third Millennium Approaches) on 10 November 1994. In the letter, he invited the Church to begin a three-year period of intensive preparation for the celebration of the third Christian millennium. The first year, 1997 would be marked by an exploration of the person ofJesus, the second, 1998, by meditation on the person of theHoly Spirit, and the third, 1999, by meditation on the person ofGod the Father. Each year was also to be marked by a special prayer of entrustment to theBlessed Virgin Mary.[1]
The formal convocation of the holy year came through thepapal bull of indiction,Incarnationis Mysterium (Mystery of the Incarnation), on 29 November 1998. In the bull, the Pope indicated that he had desired to lead the Church into the Great Jubilee since the beginning of his pontificate. He explained that this Jubilee would be a chance to open new horizons in preaching the Kingdom of God. However, it would also be a time of repentance, both for individuals and for the Church as a whole. Furthermore, he stressed theecumenical character of this event, which he saw as not only for Catholics, but for allChristians and indeed for the whole world.
The various churches and cathedrals in Rome took advantage of the Jubilee to perform long-needed renovations. The facade of St. Peter's was under scaffolding for months, as centuries of grime were painstakingly removed. TheHoly See also arranged to build a massive parking garage under theJaniculum hill, in order to accommodate all the buses that were expected. Construction of the garage was halted for some time due to the discovery ofmosaics dating from the imperial period in previously unknown chambers under the hill. These were removeden masse so as to be able to complete the garage in time for the Jubilee.
With the Bull of Indiction came a document from the Apostolic Penitentiary, indicating the conditions for receiving the Jubileeindulgence. In many respects, they were greatly simplified with respect to previous years. The normal conditions ofconfession,communion, prayer for the Pope and renunciation of attachment to sin remained in place, but unlike previous Jubilees, it was only necessary to visit a single church on a single day.
The indulgence could be obtained inRome by visiting one of the four patriarchalbasilicas,St. Peter's Basilica,St. John Lateran,St. Paul Outside the Walls orSt. Mary Major, as well as by a visit to theshrine of Our Lady of Divine Love, the basilica ofSt. Lawrence Outside the Walls or the Christiancatacombs of Rome. In the visit, the pilgrim had to take part in a religious celebration or spend a half-hour inEucharisticadoration.
The indulgence could also be obtained in the Holy Land by a visit to theChurch of the Holy Sepulchre inJerusalem, theChurch of the Nativity inBethlehem, or theChurch of the Annunciation inNazareth.
Further, the Jubilee was extended to all dioceses of the world. A visit to thecathedral church or another shrine designated by thebishop would also suffice to gain the Jubilee indulgence. Cloisterednuns andmonks could obtain the indulgence in their housechapels.
Finally, the indulgence could be gained by means of a personal sacrifice or works of charity. Specifically mentioned in the document were sacrifices such as giving upsmoking oralcohol for at least one day or making a donation to help the poor.
The particular Jubilees punctuated each week of the year 2000. There were specialVespers services held every day at St. Peter's Basilica, often with participation by the Pope. Nearly every Sunday was dedicated to a special celebration of some sector of society. (See list at the end of this article.)
Some events of the Jubilee year were seen to be particularly significant, however.
The pope opened the Jubilee by opening theholy door of St. Peter's Basilica shortly before theMidnight Mass on 24 December 1999. Most of the time, the holy doors of the patriarchalBasilicas are cemented shut. On the occasion of a Jubilee year, the pope opens the doors as a symbol of opening the doors of grace. Pilgrims visiting the basilicas to gain the Jubilee indulgence enter the basilicas through these special doors. Throughout most of the Jubilee year, long lines were queued up to enter the door.
Pope John Paul II simplified the rite of opening considerably, compared to previous Jubilees. (SeeHoly door.) After a series of prayers and hymns, punctuated byAfricanelephant tusks being blown, the Pope, clad in a purplecope, pushed on the doors as they were drawn open from inside by assistants. He then fell to his knees on the threshold of the Basilica and prayed, holding his silverPapalferula. Pope John Paul II commissionedPatsy Ford Simms to compose the music for this celebration.[2]
The holy door inSt. John Lateran was opened by the pope the following day, and that ofSt. Mary Major on 1 January 2000.
The fourth holy door, that of St. Paul Outside the Walls, was not opened until 18 January 2000, to launch the week of prayer for Christian Unity. For that celebration, the Pope had planned an ecumenical service, inviting leaders of all Christian religions to take part. Twenty-two Christian leaders accepted the invitation, along with a representative of theWorld Council of Churches, which represents 337 denominations. The opening of the door was carried out simultaneously by the Pope, Metropolitan Athanasias, representing theEcumenical Patriarch, andGeorge Carey,Archbishop of Canterbury. All three fell to their knees on the threshold of the Basilica, joined in prayer. The liturgy of the day included readings from theBible, from theLutheranmartyrDietrich Bonhoeffer and from theRussian theologianGeorges Florovsky.
One particularly rich ceremony of the Jubilee, dubbed the "Day of Forgiveness", came on 12 March 2000, the first Sunday ofLent. There the Pope begged forgiveness from God for the sins committed by members of the Church, and particularly sins committed in the name of the Church.[3]
Seven seniorcurial officials read special prayers asking for forgiveness in specific areas. The first, Benin's CardinalBernardin Gantin, then dean of theCollege of Cardinals, made a general confession of Christians' sins in the course of history.Joseph Ratzinger, cardinal prefect of theCongregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, called for confession of faults for the use of "non-evangelical methods" in the service of faith, as for example, in theInquisition.Roger Etchegaray, cardinal president of the Central Committee for the Jubilee, exhorted the confession of sins that caused division among Christians; CardinalEdward Idris Cassidy, president of thePontifical Council for Promoting Christian Unity, acknowledged the faults committed "against the people of the Covenant," theJews; andJapanese ArchbishopStephen Fumio Hamao, president of thePontifical Council for the Pastoral Care of Migrants and Itinerant People, mentioned sins committed against love, peace, the rights of peoples, respect of cultures and religions.Nigerian CardinalFrancis Arinze, president of thePontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue, requested confession of sins that have wounded the dignity of woman and the unity of mankind. Finally,Vietnamese ArchbishopFrançois Xavier Nguyên Van Thuân, president of thePontifical Council for Justice and Peace, encouraged confession of sins in the area of fundamental rights of the human person: abuses against children, marginalisation of the poor, suppression of the unborn in the maternal womb or their use for experimentation.
Thismea culpa of the Church was widely applauded, but some members of the Catholic Church felt that it had gone too far, and had damaged the doctrine that the Church is holy. For his part, at the prayer of theAngelus later in the day, the Pope indicated that such a ceremony was necessary. "The Holy Year is a time of purification: the Church is Holy because Christ is her Head and Spouse, the Spirit is her vivifying soul, and the Blessed Virgin and the saints are her most authentic expression. However, the children of the Church know the reality of sin, whose shadows are reflected in her, darkening her beauty. Because of this, the Church does not cease to implore God's forgiveness for the sins of her members."
Only a few days later, from 21 March to 26 March, the Pope realized a long-held dream by completing a personalpilgrimage to theHoly Land. He visitedJordan,Israel and lands held by thePalestinian National Authority. Two particular high points of that visit were his prayer at theWestern Wall, where he placed a copy of the prayer for forgiveness for sins against the Jews into a crack in the wall, and his celebration of theMass in theCenacle in Jerusalem.
TheCenacle had been closed toPope Paul VI when he visited Jerusalem in 1964, because the same site is venerated in Judaism as the burial site ofKing David. Pope John Paul II was permitted to celebrate in this most holy location of Christianity, where he preached on the words spoken by the faithful after the consecration: "Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again". After the visit, theIsraeli government arranged for the possession of the cenacle to be transferred to the Catholic Church in exchange forSanta María Blanca, asynagogue inToledo, Spain that had been converted into a church.
World Youth Day 2000 was an extremely well-attended event. An estimated two million youths took place in the closing Mass. The Roman subways were filled with singing youths from all over the world. The area around theCircus Maximus was converted into a large area for the hearing of confession. There were always long lines at these confessionals, and most priests in Rome spent several hours here. The event culminated with the Mass on 20 August 2000 in a large field belonging to the RomanuniversityTor Vergata.
The Great Jubilee was closed on 6 January 2001 with the Mass ofEpiphany. On the previous night, the Basilica of St. Peter was scheduled to close at 6:00 p.m. but the church remained open until the last pilgrim had passed through the Holy Doors at about 2:20 a.m. on 6 January.[4][5] After solemnly closing the Holy Door, the Pope celebrated Mass in front of the basilica for a congregation of some 10,000 persons. On this occasion, the Pope signed his Apostolic LetterNovo Millennio Ineunte (At the beginning of the new millennium) which outlines the priorities of the Church for the 21st century and beyond.
The proposal to celebrate the year 2000 was received very well among Christians. Early on, the Vatican had a disappointment because theWaldenses, the only large Protestant religion in Italy, refused to participate because of their dispute against the Jubilee indulgence. Nonetheless, many Christians celebrated this year in a special way.
There were also various special efforts to bring light on social issues in this year. Noting that the Biblical Jubilees involved the forgiveness of debts, the rock singerBono,Quincy Jones,Willie Colón,Muhammad Ali,Bob Geldof among others supportedJubilee 2000 to increase awareness of the developing nations struggling under a possibly unpayable foreign debt. With the blessing of the Pope, they sought to bring governments and international banks to cancel such debts during the Jubilee year.
The Italian group,Hands Off Cain (Nessuno tocchi Caino), took advantage of the Jubilee to call for an end tocapital punishment around the world. Whenever a country chose to commute a sentence or abolish the death penalty entirely, the group illuminated the RomanColosseum for various numbers of days. The Pope also called for a moratorium on executions and, if possible, the abolishment of the practice. On 9 July 2000, he visited theRegina Coeli prison in Rome.
Opening and closing of theHoly Doors of the fourmajor papal basilicas in Rome signal the beginning and end of the jubilee:
| Basilica | Opening date | Closing date | Image |
|---|---|---|---|
| St. Peter's Basilica in the Vatican | 24 December 1999 | 6 January 2001 |  |
| St. John Lateran Basilica | 25 December 1999 | 5 January 2001 |  |
| Basilica of Saint Mary Major | 1 January 2000 |  | |
| Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls | 18 January 2000 | %2c_Heilige_Pforte_3.jpg) |
Arvo Pärt was commissioned to compose a work for the occasion, and wroteCecilia, vergine romana (Cecilia, Roman virgin) for mixed choir and orchestra. The Italian text deals with the life and martyrdom ofSaint Cecilia, thepatron saint of music. The work was first performed on 19 November 2000, close to her feast day on 22 November, by theAccademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia conducted byMyung-whun Chung.[6]
Born Karol Józef Wojtyła; 18 May 1920 – 2 April 2005
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