Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year Key Focus of Ghana Catholic Bishops’ Annual Plenary Assembly Deliberations

“This Jubilee Year reminds us that hope is foundational to the Church’s mission; it encourages a renewed commitment to pastoral care, social justice and community building,” he said.

Amid challenges the people of God in Ghana face, hope is paramount, the Ghanaian Catholic Bishop said, and added, “This call to hope also prompts us to see the Church as a beacon of light in times of darkness, fostering resilience among its members.”

On January 21, Pope Francis announced the start of a Year of Prayer in preparation for the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year, the second in his Pontificate after the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015.

Months later, on the Solemnity of the Ascension of our Lord Jesus Christ on May 9, 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).

To be marked under the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope”, the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee Year that is to officially begin on December 24 is to conclude on 6 January 2026. 

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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 his speech at the opening of the annual GCBC Plenary Assembly, Bishop Kwasi outlined the aspect of renewal, saying, “A jubilee traditionally signifies a period of renewal, forgiveness, and celebration.”

He added, “A jubilee is a time for introspection, inviting individuals and communities to examine their journeys of faith, acknowledge shortcomings, and seek renewal.”

“This process can deepen our understanding of what it means to live out the Gospel in contemporary Ghana within a truly Synodal Church,” the GCBC President said, alluding to the multi-year Synod on Synodality , which concluded on October 27 with the 52-page Final Document of the XVI Assembly that delegates of the Second Session of the Synod approved on October 26, and whose publication Pope Francis approved.

On illegal mining, Bishop Kwasi expressed his awareness of previous calls to end the vice. He said, “There have been many write-ups; many demonstrations; lots of analysis but little success probably because of lack of proper action and that is going to be the main focus of our meeting.”

During the Plenary Assembly, the GCBC President said, “we will meet with important personalities who truly know – or whom we believe know – and who can share with us, not from a political perspective but honestly, as citizens and leaders of our country, to inform us and share with us what is happening.”

Bishop Kwasi appealed for spiritual solidarity during the five-day Plenary Assembly, saying, “As we begin this period of study and reflection, we invite all the faithful, the clergy, religious, and all people of Ghana to accompany us in prayer.”

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