Pope Leo XIV declares Year of St Francis

St Francis of Assisi by Philip Fruytiers - Wiki Image

Pope Leo has proclaimed a Franciscan Jubilee Year for the 800th anniversary of the death of St Francis of Assisi

The Holy Father has arranged that, from the 10th January, 2026 to the 10th January, 2027, this Year of St Francis will be celebrated, during which all the Christian faithful are invited to follow the example of the Saint of Assisi, becoming models of holiness of life and constant witnesses of peace. The Apostolic Penitentiary grants the plenary indulgence under the usual conditions to those who participate devoutly in this extraordinary jubilee, which represents an ideal continuation of the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025.

This Jubilee Year is addressed especially to members of the Franciscan Families of the First, Second and Third Regular and Secular Orders, as well as to Institutes of Consecrated Life, Societies of Apostolic Life and Associations that observe the Rule of St Francis or are inspired by its spirituality. However, the grace of this special year is also extended to all the faithful without distinction who, with their spirits removed from sin, visit in the form of a pilgrimage any Franciscan conventual church or place of worship dedicated to St. Francis in any part of the world. The elderly, the sick and those who for serious reasons cannot leave home will also be able to obtain the plenary indulgence by spiritually joining the Jubilee celebrations and offering their prayers, pains or sufferings to God.

In this time of celebration that culminates eight hundred years of Franciscan memory, we cordially invite all the faithful to take an active part in this exceptional Jubilee. May the shining example of St Francis, who knew how to make himself poor and humble in order to be true alter Christus on earth, inspire our hearts to live with authentic Christian charity towards our neighbour and with sincere longings for concord and peace among peoples. Following in the footsteps of the Poverello of Assisi, let us transform the hope that made us pilgrims during the Holy Year into fervour and zeal of effective charity. May this Year of St Francis be for each one of us a providential occasion for sanctification and evangelical witness in the contemporary world, for the glory of God and the good of the whole Church.

LINKS

Read the full decree here: https://ofm.org/uploads/Decreto_Indulgenza_Giubileo_Francescono-EN.pdf

Franciscan Friars OFM: www.ofm.org/en/home.html

St Francis of Assisi: www.indcatholicnews.com/editsaint/287