Holy Year
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Compostela Jubilee Year
What is the Holy Year?
The Holy Year, or Compostela Jubilee Year, is a time when the Church grants special spiritual graces to the faithful, following the example of the Jubilee in the Bible. Every seven years was a sabbatical year: those who had sold land out of need recovered it, and enslaved people were freed. Every fifty years was a Jubilee Year (Lev 25).
Jesus says that he has come to proclaim a year of the Lord’s favour (Lk 4:16).
Through its Holy Year, the Church in Compostela likewise offers a special year of grace.
Every 11, 6, 5 and 6 years
When is the Holy Year celebrated?
The Compostela Holy Year is celebrated whenever 25 July, the feast of Saint James the Apostle, falls on a Sunday.
Because of the way weekdays and leap years fall, it recurs at intervals of 6, 5, 6 and 11 years. The last Holy Year was in 2021 and was extended through 2022 because of the pandemic. The next is in 2027, followed by 2032, 2038 and 2049.
The Holy Year begins on the evening of 31 December of the previous year, when the Cathedral’s Holy Door is opened, and lasts throughout the year.
Its origins go back to Pope Callixtus II in 1122. Pope Alexander III confirmed it in perpetuity in the bull Regis aeterni of 1179.
The See of Peter
Words of the Popes
Over the centuries, the See of Peter has repeatedly praised the pilgrimage to Santiago and the Holy Year.
“We urge all our beloved children to follow this path of fidelity to the Gospel, Christian authenticity and enlightened hope, which has led so many souls to the church of Compostela over the centuries.”
Paul VI · Holy Year 1971
“I share the joy … at this time of grace and forgiveness which the Lord once again grants to the beloved community of Spain and all Christendom … May the Jubilee be an occasion of true reconciliation for all.”
John Paul II · Holy Year 1982
“I invite pilgrims to treasure the experiences of faith, charity and fellowship they encounter along the way, and to live the Camino above all inwardly, letting themselves be challenged by the Lord’s call to each of them. Then they can say with joy and conviction at the Portico of Glory: ‘I believe.’”
Benedict XVI · Holy Year 2010
Official anthem of the 2027 Holy Year
Un campo cheo de estrelas
Music and lyrics by Carlos Martínez Movilla, performed by Noelia Álvarez. Available in Galician and Spanish.
In Galician
Un campo cheo de estrelas
In Spanish
Un campo lleno de estrellas
Receiving the Jubilee indulgence
To receive the Jubilee indulgence:
Visit the tomb of the Apostle in the Cathedral and say a prayer.
Confession may be made in the Cathedral or elsewhere, within fifteen days before or after the visit.
This indulgence may be applied to the deceased.
The grace of the Jubilee and the pilgrimage are not in themselves tied to the Compostela certificate. You may receive the Jubilee indulgence regardless of how you travel, and you may receive the Compostela without receiving the Jubilee indulgence.
Indulgence and faculties
Jubilee graces
Plenary indulgence
A plenary indulgence may be obtained once a day and applied to the deceased, under these conditions:
- Visit the Cathedral, recite a prayer such as the Our Father and the Creed, and pray for the intentions of the Pope.
- Receive the sacrament of confession (which may take place within 15 days before or after the visit) and Holy Communion.
Faculties for confessors
- All priests authorised to hear confessions may do so in the Cathedral, the city’s parishes and on Monte do Gozo.
- They may remit censures except those reserved to the Holy See (see CIC canons 1367, 1370, 1378, 1382 and 1383), subject to the faculties granted by canons 976 and 1357.
- They may commute vows or dispense from them under the conditions laid down by the Church.
Come and celebrate the Jubilee
Make a pilgrimage to the tomb of the Apostle and experience the 2027 Holy Year. We can help you prepare for your arrival in Santiago and take part in the Cathedral’s celebrations.