At 5.30 p.m. (Rome time), Saturday 11 April, the eve of Divine Mercy Sunday, in St. Peter’s Basilica, the Pope officially convoked the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy with the publication of the Bull of Indiction, “Misericordiae vultus” (“The Face of Mercy”). The Jubilee Bull, aside from indicating the duration, opening and closing dates, and the main ways in which the Holy Year will unfold, constitutes the basic document for understanding the spirit in which it was convoked, as well as Pope Francis’ intentions and the fruit he hopes the Year will bear.

For the proclamation, the Holy Father, accompanied by the cardinals,  proceeded to the entrance of the Vatican Basilica. At the side of the Holy Door the Bull of Indiction was handed to the four cardinal archpriests of the papal basilicas of Rome: Cardinal Angelo Comastri, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Peter in the Vatican; Cardinal Agostino Vallini, archpriest of the Basilica of St. John Lateran; Cardinal James Michael Harvey, St. Paul Outside-the-Walls; and Cardinal Santos Abril y Castello, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Mary Major.

 

Ed Sirois (La Salle Academy Religion Teacher) explains the significance of this Extraordinary Jubilee Year in his video.