The Jubilee Year of Saint Paul:
The Background, the Basilica, and the Man Behind It All
By Desmond O'Grady

Although Pope Benedict XVI promulgated this extraordinary jubilee year, the idea originated with Andrea Cardinal Cordero Lanza di Montezemolo, archpriest of the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls.

In June of 2007, Pope Benedict XVI declared a jubilee year in honor of the two-thousandth anniversary of the birth of Saint Paul. The jubilee year will run from June 28, 2008, through June 20, 2009.

The tradition of a jubilee year comes down to us from Mosaic Law. It is spelled out in the book of Leviticus (see especially chapter 25) and was a time of justice and celebration. It was a time when land was fallow, debts were forgiven, land was returned to its original owners...

 

Continue reading this article.