History of the Jubilee

The word "jubilee" derives from the Hebrew term "jobel" which means "ram's horn", a horn which was used to signal the beginning of the Year of the Jubilee to everybody. The Biblical Jubilee as described in Book 25 of Leviticus fell every fifty years, and imposed the returning of goods bought during the fifty years as well as acts of charity.
The Christian Jubilee dates back to the Middle Ages: it was rendered official in the 14th century by Pope Boniface VIII who began the cycle of celebrations which were meant to recur every hundred years.
In 1343, Clement VI established that the Jubilee was to recur every fifty years, very much like the Biblical Jubilee. Urban VI with the Jubilee of 1390 brought the recurrence down to every thirty-three years, in memory of the death of Jesus Christ. For the 1470 Jubilee, the recurrence was shortened even more to every 25 years, which is as it stands today.

Source: Card. Paul Poupard with the collaboration of Card. Dionigi Tettamanzi, Mons. Rino Fisichella, Mons. Luciano Pacomio, "Pilgrim's Guide to Rome - Jubilee 2000", PIEMME, Alessandria 1999.

Text approved by the Arts Office of the Diocese of Vicenza