Jubilee is plenary indulgence (full remission of temporal sentences, pardon), solemn and general, performed by the Catholic religion, where the Pope grants to Catholics in various solemnities.
Jubilee is also the name of the solemnity on which the plenary indulgence was received.
Jubilee is the fiftieth anniversary of marriage, the exercise of a function (priestly jubilee, magisterial jubilee, etc.) of an institution, commercial or industrial establishment.
Jubilee is a solemn anniversary, it is also a great time span. The most celebrated jubilees are the silver jubilee for 25 years and the golden jubilee for 50 years.
Among the Hebrews, in ancient times, jubilee was a festival held every fifty years, where the remission of servitude, debts and guilt was commemorated.
Jubilee in Catholicism
The jubilee is a solemnity of the Catholic Church, today held every 25 years. For special reasons the pope can celebrate extraordinary jubilees, where he grants remission of the temporal punishment due for mortal sins already forgiven in confession.
The origin of the jubilee is biblical, as you can see in Leviticus 25:1-17. The year of jubilation opens with the sound of the trumpet, called in Hebrew “jobel”, hence the name jubilee. The old legislation provided for the practice of freeing the slave and returning property every seven years. The new legislation declared holy the fiftieth year in which liberation was proclaimed for all residents of the country. It will be the year of joy, where they will not sow. It will be a sacred year and they will eat what the field produces.
