The convalescing pontiff wrote meditations for this evening's rite at the Colosseum, which he will follow from Casa Santa Marta. “The steps you take as you leave the city can foreshadow our own exodus to a new land,” the pope writes. Some of the evils of a world that call for redemption are an economy ruled by the cold logic of algorithms, crocodile tears, and divisions within the Church. Joseph of Arimathea is an icon of the boldness of hope.

In Oceania too, dependence on creditors has grown, a problem at the centre of Pope Francis' appeal for the Jubilee 2025. With clear political will, the serious situations in other countries could still be avoided, but there is still little awareness. On 24 May, a global 24-hour “Relay for Peace” will start from Samoa to raise awareness.

In a statement, the Gemelli Hospital reported “a slight improvement” in the pope’s conditions The Vatican released the pope’s message for the path towards Easter, titled this year “Let us journey together in hope”.

The Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Philippines has approved a translation of the prayer into Filipino, the country’s lingua franca, to be used alongside the traditional Tagalog version, more closely in line with the original Latin text and adapted to changing times. The decision coincides with the Jubilee Year and the 50th anniversary of the pastoral letter on the relationship between Philippine Catholics and the Virgin Mary.

Pope Francis released his reflection for the event slated for 19 October in the jubilee year. Even “the most developed areas” are in crisis today, but the Gospel can “restore us to a whole, healthy, redeemed humanity.” Francis thanks the missionaries ad gentes and calls for experiencing evangelisation as a “communitarian process”.

To mark this year’s jubilee, inaugurated at the end of December in Abu Dhabi, Bishop Martinelli released a pastoral letter to the faithful living in the Gulf region. In it he stresses Christian hope, founded on God's love, which stands and resists despite hardships. He urges the faithful to go on a pilgrimage to one of the shrine churches “to experience the mercy of God”.

The celebration presided over by Archbishop Bejoy Nicephorus D'Cruze in St Mary's Cathedral. AsiaNews reports on the expectations for the Holy Year of the faithful of the country's small Catholic community: ‘A time to rediscover the call to be better people in the service of all’.

In a video message, the Archbishop of Colombo explained to Sri Lankan Catholics the significance of the Holy Year as an opportunity for spiritual awakening. ‘Doctrine is not something written in a book: it must be reflected in our choices’. The invitation to families: ‘Pray and read the Bible together during the Jubilee’.

In a pastoral letter published at the start of the Holy Year, Card David, president of the bishops' conference, cites a survey according to which more than 90 per cent of Filipinos have confidence in the future. “Despite the trials and tribulations that we face, we will always hold on to the belief, ‘God has mercy’ or ‘God will take care,” the prelate writes. The challenge is to live this as a "community of missionary disciples" even when confronted with new challenges.

From Mainland China the appeal for the Holy Year by Archbishop Shen Bin: "Let us give hope to those in difficulty: to the poor, the sick, the young, migrants and the elderly alone". The Archbishop of Hanoi: in 2025 more possibilities for Vietnamese to go on pilgrimage to Rome. Fifteen jubilee churches in the metropolis. Philippine Cardinal David's appeal to the government: "Let the political prisoners be freed for the Jubilee".

The provincial of the Franciscans custodians of the Holy Sites speaks with AsiaNews about the festivities once again without pilgrims, whose return is ‘linked to the end of the conflict’. The focus is on events in neighbouring Syria, amid ‘suspended’ or ‘moderately positive’ judgements. The Custody ‘increasingly international’ with ‘about sixty’ countries present. The ‘debt’ of Western Christians with their brothers in the Holy Land.

Crossing the Holy Door of St Peter's Basilica in his wheelchair, on Christmas Eve, the pope launched the Holy Year 2025. "For Christian hope is not a cinematic “happy ending” which we passively await: it is the promise of the Lord to be welcomed here and now. May a new time be opened for the Earth disfigured by the logic of profit, for the poorest countries burdened by unjust debts, for the prisoners of old and new slavery’.

In his speech at the UN Conference underway in Baku, the Vatican Secretary of State reiterated Pope Francis’s appeal for the 2025 Jubilee. “A new international financial architecture” is needed “that can truly ensure for all countries, especially the poorest and those most vulnerable to climate disasters, both low-carbon and high-sharing development pathways”.

Pope Francis released his message for World Youth Day, which the Church will celebrate in every diocese on 24 November, a few weeks before the start of the Jubilee. “[T]he Lord is opening a highway before you, and he invites you to set out on it with joy and hope,” writes the pontiff.

On the Solemnity of the Ascension, Pope Francis this evening released the bull "Spes non confundit", announcing the Holy Year in 2025, delivering the document to Churches around the world. Reiterating his call for the guns to fall silent, he calls that the debt of poor countries be forgiven, “a question of justice”. He also expressed hope that the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea will offer a visible path on the ecumenical journey, beginning with the date of Easter.