Dear Fathers, Brothers, and Sisters,

In 2025, the universal Church begins the celebration of a Jubilee Year with the theme, "Pilgrims of Hope." In preparation for this Jubilee, Pope Francis has designated 2024 as a Year of Prayer.

Jubilee years find their roots in the Jewish tradition. In the Scriptures, Moses prescribed a time of Jubilee for the Jewish people, allowing them a year of rest from their labours, an opportunity to return to their families, and to receive a remission of their debts. For slaves, it was a time of liberation (Leviticus 25:10-14). The history of the Catholic Church has seen the frequency of Jubilee Years evolve over time. Initially, they were celebrated every 100 years, then every 50 years, and since 1470, every 25 years.

Successive popes have also chosen to declare "extraordinary" Holy Years to commemorate or highlight significant themes for our Church, such as the Year of Mercy in 2015. Jubilee Years are opportunities for transformation. When a theme for a Jubilee is presented, Catholics are invited to explore that theme deeply through prayer and reflection, formation, and missionary action. In entrusting the organisation of the Jubilee to the Dicastery for Evangelisation, Pope Francis wrote, "The Jubilee has always been an event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church. Now, as the first twenty-five years of the new century draw to a close, we are called to enter a season of preparation that will enable the Christian people to experience the Holy Year in all its pastoral richness.

A significant step on this journey was already taken with the celebration of the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy, which allowed us to appreciate anew all the power and tenderness of the Father's merciful love, so that we can become, in our turn, its witnesses." To mark this important occasion, and in line with the Universal Church, we have designated three of our Parishes as Pilgrim Centres namely St. Joseph's Cathedral, Itanagar, Holy Trinity Church, Banderdewa and St. Joseph's Church, Kaying. These sacred places will serve as centres for prayer, reflection, and pilgrimage throughout the Jubilee Year. I extend an invitation to all to organise pilgrimages to these churches and receive the blessings that await us.

Let us journey together with our communities on this spiritual pilgrimage, deepening our faith and enriching our spiritual lives. To facilitate your visit, kindly notify the respective parish priests in advance, enabling them to make the necessary arrangements. I also request that, in all our centres and parishes, we demonstrate in creative ways to communicate to our people about this great jubilee.

With blessings,
+Benny Varghese Edathattel