He called upon the people of God under his pastoral care to embrace the Jubilee Year of Hope as a period of grace, reconciliation, and renewal.
The Holy Father announced the start of a Year of Prayer on 21 January 2024 in preparation for the Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his Pontificate after the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015.
He said that the 2025 Jubilee Year will be “a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in one’s personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world.”
Months later, on the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on 9 May 2024, the Holy Father solemnly proclaimed the upcoming Jubilee Year 2025 at a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica, during which he delivered the Bull of Indiction of the planned Jubilee, “Spes non confundit” (Hope does not disappoint).
The Jubilee Year provides the people of God across the globe an opportunity to participate in various planned jubilee events at the Vatican and in their respective Episcopal Sees and Institutes of Consecrated Life and Societies of Apostolic Life (ICLSAL).
In the interview with ACI Africa on February 13, Archbishop Audu emphasized the significance of the Jubilee as a time to restore faith and trust in God despite prevailing economic and social hardships.
“The Jubilee Year is a year of grace, of forgiveness, of God’s mercy, and of reconciliation with the people of God,” Archbishop Audu said.
He added, “The Holy Father has designated this as a Jubilee Year of Hope, reminding us that even amid difficulties, we must not lose hope. God is still in charge.”
The Nigerian Catholic Church leader, who started his Episcopal Ministry in March 2001 as Bishop of Nigeria’s Lafia Catholic Diocese reiterated that hope is a fundamental virtue for Catholics, and urged those who have strayed from their faith to repent, seek God’s mercy, and remain steadfast.
“This is a period where we must hold onto the belief that God’s promises never fail. If God has promised salvation, it will manifest in all aspects of life, not just spiritually, but even physically,” he said.
