In the Jubilee calendar, Epiphany is the final step. After the closing of Rome’s three Holy Doors on December 28, the final closure at St. Peter’s liturgically sealed the Holy Year. It is more than a date; it is a handover: from the exceptionality of pilgrimage to the fidelity of daily life.
Why Epiphany
Epiphany proclaims the manifestation of Christ to the nations. It is the universal breath of faith. Concluding the Jubilee on this solemnity tells us that the hope celebrated for a year does not remain in Rome: it sets out again toward the world, like the Three Kings who returned to their paths changed in the depths of their hearts.
The rite at St Peter’s: what happens
The celebration included a Solemn Mass and the concluding rite of the Jubilee, presided over by the Pope. It was a unifying moment for the Church: thanksgiving for the journey, and an entrustment to the Lord of what has taken root in prayer, reconciliation, and charity.
The sign is simple; the meaning profound: what we have lived together becomes personal commitment.
What “ends” and what “remains”
A year in three images
In memory of Pope Francis
During the Holy Year, the Church mourned the passing of Pope Francis, who returned to the Father’s house on 21 April 2025 (Easter Monday). A pastor close to the least, he desired the Jubilee of Hope as a concrete invitation to reconciliation and mercy. The concluding rite on Epiphany gathered his legacy: a Church capable of keeping the flame of hope burning in the ordinary life of every day.
A farewell that opens new paths
The Jubilee draws to a close, but its meaning does not run out. Epiphany sets us back on the road: like the Three Kings, we return home with a new orientation. The Door closes, yet hope remains wide open, in families, at work, in our cities. That is where the Holy Year continues, one look and one gesture at a time.
