Jubilees in Archival records
2025 is a year of Jubilee for the Church. In today’s episode, we discover how the documents in our Historical Archives can tell the story of past jubilees, both ordinary and extraordinary.
Jubilees: a long history
We must remember that jubilees in past centuries had a different cadence than the one, every twenty-five years, to which we are accustomed.
When they were instituted, they were scheduled once every century. In the course of time, the Pontiffs ordered jubilees to fall every fifty years, then every thirty-three, and finally every twenty-five. Due to particular historical events, some jubilees did not take place: such as that of 1800 because of the absence of the Pope, who was imprisoned in France, that of 1850 because of the events of the Roman Republic, and that of 1875 because the Papal State had fallen five years earlier.
Today there are countless sources in the state archives, in the Vatican Apostolic Archive, in diocesan historical archives and in the archives of religious orders to recount the jubilees.
Jubilees from 1825
Our archives do not preserve the documentation of the Ancient Society, so we can investigate the jubilees from 1814, the year the Order was reconstituted. The first to be proclaimed was that of 1825, followed within a few years by the extraordinary one of 1829. Unfortunately, the 19th century, due to the historical events already mentioned, boasts few jubilees that were actually celebrated. In 1825, there were still few active residences. Fathers and brothers in many provinces were still organising to return to the cities where they had colleges and residences before the suppression. We can find some more information on the extraordinary ones of 1829 and 1886.
For the 20th century on the other hand, given the high number of active residences, there are many sources for the holy years: 1900, 1925, 1933, and 1950. In accordance with our regulations, it is possible to investigate the jubilees announced up to 1958, the year of Pius XII’s death.
We distinguish between ordinary jubilees, planned periodically, and extraordinary jubilees, called by the pontiff for specific occasions or to celebrate certain events. In 2033, for example, an extraordinary jubilee will be held to celebrate the two thousandth anniversary of Christ’s death.
The narrative sources
Most of the sources that tell us about the jubilee are the more “traditional” ones. The historiae domus, house diaries and correspondence.
What do these sources tell us? In different ways, with more or less detail, they tell what activities the Jesuits organised on this important event for Christianity. If the historia domus is more succinct, reporting on the jubilee year anyway, with particular emphasis on the Roman communities or those close to the Holy See, the house diary is the richest source of information. It mentions pilgrimages, initiatives involving lay people, college students and other events organised for the holy year.
Photographic sources
Certainly, the sources that best tell us about the jubilee experienced by the Jesuits are photographs. Our archive contains a large photographic heritage, most of which has already been reordered. It has about 300 photo albums and tens of thousands of loose photographs.
In the recently rearranged photo series of the Massimiliano Massimo Institute, we find several photos taken on several jubilees: the extraordinary jubilee of 1933 and the ordinary jubilee of 1950. Here is a small gallery of the photos from those years. They depict the students of the institute, in white uniforms, parading through the streets of Rome, carrying the “Istituto Massimo” sign as far as St. Peter’s. The photographs also show the basilicas they visit, festively lit.
“Personal” jubilees
For religious orders, the word jubilee also has another meaning.
“Jubilees” is also the name given to recurrences of Jesuit religious life: 25, 50, 75 years of life in the Society and as many of priesthood. The annual catalogues of the Provinces, especially in recent decades, mark them so that the fathers and brothers can wish those who have reached this milestone well. It is not surprising that there are those who celebrate 75 years of religious life, having entered the novitiate at a very young age.
Maria Macchi
