On March 28, 29 and 30, 2025, the Church summoned the Missionaries of Mercy to celebrate their jubilee together, gathering in Rome with a formative and celebratory program. About 500 priests of the 1,500 appointed worldwide attended.
We Capuchins also participated with friars from different countries to experience the event with the whole Church. The Missionaries of Mercy were established by Pope Francis in the Extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy (2015); he then reconfirmed them to continue helping the Universal Church to revive the Sacrament of Reconciliation and deepen the proclamation of Gods mercy. In the specific celebration of the sacrament, the Holy Father granted them all the faculty to absolve sins that are normally reserved for the Holy See.
We recall that the Sacrament of Reconciliation was given special emphasis via our Order in that extraordinary jubilee when Pope Francis presented to the whole Church as examples of confessors our two saints: Leopold Mandi? and Pio of Pietrelcina, bringing their holy remains to St. Peters Basilica. Moreover, by gathering us in his presence for a special Eucharistic celebration for us Capuchins, he recommitted us to being good, merciful confessors as well.
The convocation of jubilee 2025 reaffirms the importance of reconciliation and the preciousness of the administration of the Sacrament of Penance.
The three-day event started on Friday, March 28 in the Paul VI Audience Hall with the formative aim of clarifying even more their specific service to the Church, recalling, in addition, that Pope Francis in the apostolic constitution Praedicate Evangelium also wanted to include the Missionaries of Mercy as belonging to the first section of the Dicastery for Evangelization (PE 59.2); they then celebrated together the Sacrament of Reconciliation by participating in the 24 Hours for the Lord program in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle. On Saturday morning, March 29, they made a pilgrimage to cross the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica and then went to the Grotto of the Virgin of Lourdes in the Vatican Gardens to pray the Holy Rosary especially for the health of the Holy Father. On Sunday morning, March 30, the last day of the jubilee, they concelebrated Holy Mass in the Basilica of Sant’Andrea della Valle presided over by H.E.R. Bishop Rino Fisichella Pro-Prefect of the Dicastery for Evangelization, where they received as a gift a new stole proper and exclusive for the Missionaries of Mercy.
We rejoice at the great number of Capuchin friars who are Missionaries of Mercy and who were able to come to Rome for this time of grace.