Does the Jubilee Year of St. Francis end on October 4?
The Franciscan Jubilee Year runs from January 10, 2026, through January 10, 2027, extending beyond the October 4 feast marking 800 years since St. Francis’ death. Catholics can still participate in Jubilee celebrations and seek a plenary indulgence during the year. The indulgence requires confession, Mass and Communion, a pilgrimage to a Franciscan church or place of worship dedicated to St. Francis, recitation of the Creed and Lord’s Prayer, and prayer for the Pope’s intentions. The Order of Friars Minor hopes the Jubilee will inspire Christian charity, humility, concord, and peace.
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The Jubilee Year of St. Francis does not end on October 4. It runs through January 10, 2027, leaving time to participate in its observances and seek the plenary indulgence associated with the year. 1
October 4 marks the feast day honoring the 800th anniversary of St. Francis’ death, but the special Franciscan Jubilee Year continues beyond that date. It began on January 10, 2026, and concludes on January 10, 2027. 1
The article lists these conditions for receiving the indulgence: sacramental confession within eight days before or after; participation in Mass and Eucharistic Communion; and a pilgrimage to a Franciscan conventual church or other place of worship dedicated to St. Francis. At the site, pilgrims are to recite the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, and pray for the intentions of the Holy Father. 1
The Order of Friars Minor presents St. Francis’ example of poverty and humility as an inspiration for Christian charity, concord, and peace. 1
Jubilee practices express Catholic theology of indulgence and renewal
Jubilee practices make Catholic teaching on indulgences visible: God’s forgiveness is freely given in Christ, and that mercy calls the forgiven person to conversion and a renewed life. Pilgrimage, prayer, confession, works of charity, and—in some Jubilees—passing through a Holy Door are not ways to earn God’s love or bypass repentance. They are outward signs and concrete expressions of turning toward God and receiving the grace the Church offers.
An indulgence is not forgiveness of sins that have not been repented of or absolved. In the ordinary sacrament of Reconciliation, God forgives sin; yet sin can leave lasting effects, including disordered attachments and harm in how we think and act. An indulgence is the Church’s application, through Christ, of the remission of the temporal punishment due to sins already forgiven—the process of purification from those remaining consequences.
That is why Jubilee indulgence cannot be understood as a spiritual “discount” that makes conversion unnecessary. John Paul II stresses that it should help conversion become more prompt, generous, and radical; a plenary indulgence requires the prescribed sacramental and prayerful conditions, including genuine detachment from sin. The precise conditions are established for each Jubilee, so a general description should not be mistaken for the rules of a particular Holy Year.
The practices also embody renewal. A pilgrimage gives bodily form to the journey of faith; confession and the other sacraments draw the pilgrim toward Christ; and works of penance and charity make repentance concrete. John Paul II describes pilgrimage and passage through the Holy Door as symbols of the believer’s path of becoming more like Christ, a path marked by the joy of conversion. Jubilee, accordingly, is not merely an occasion to seek a personal spiritual benefit: it calls for reconciliation, changed conduct, and renewed hope.
Finally, indulgences express the Church’s communion of saints. The grace is Christ’s; the Church ministers the fruits of his redemption, and the holiness and prayers of the faithful support one another. The Jubilee practice thus joins personal repentance to the wider life of the Church—and, in turn, forgiveness received is meant to open the heart to forgive others.