Introduction: Jubilee – A Biblical Vision of Renewal

Biblically, the year of Jubilee was a familial and economic concept, designed to keep families and their property intact, and stave off poverty.¹ Ancestral property which had been sold, even legally, was restored to its original owners. It was a moment to release slaves from servitude, to be restored to liberty and their families. For these reasons, it was seen as a time of liberty. It was also a year of rest, not just for people, but also for their land, which was allowed to lie fallow. With the initiation of the tradition of Jubilees, the Church embraced this concept, interpreting through a Christological hermeneutic, the messianic mission of Jesus. He inaugurated a new Jubilee (Lk 4:16–19), announcing it with the prophecy of Isaiah (Is 61:1–2), proclaiming release from sin and redemption for the whole human race. For the Jews, the Jubilee Year reflected their freedom from slavery and entry into the Promised Land. Within the Church, though, we understand this concept as a year of deeper reflection on what Jesus has won for us and an opportunity for renewal.

Roots of Hope in the Carmelite Vineyard

As Carmelites—nuns, friars and Seculars—this Jubilee Year offered us time for reflection on how we live our consecrated lives according to our state in life, and how we can bring the life, spirituality and wisdom of Carmel to the Church and the world, each in our own unique way. The Jubilee’s theme of hope weaves into this broader understanding of Jubilee. The world is always in need of hope—a vision of light that cuts through the shroud of darkness too often woven to suffocate us. Hope, as a virtue, sanctifies. So, in the context of the Jubilee, we see the call to greater holiness. The opening of holy doors symbolises this call to enter a deeper spiritual life, to embark on the via sanctificationis, to enter and begin the journey through the various mansions to union with Christ. In this context, it seems unplanned—perhaps even providential—events occurred, forming milestones for us.

On 18th December 2024, just six days before he opened the Jubilee, Pope Francis canonised the Martyrs of Compiègne. While the canonisation may seem routine business outside the Jubilee, its timing was significant and seemed to herald, at least for us Carmelites, the beginning of this year of grace. As the image of the journey towards hope as pilgrims is the theme of the Jubilee Year, when we reflect on the journey of St Teresa of St Augustine and her sisters on the tumbril to the guillotine, we can see it was a pilgrimage of hope from their prison into the arms of their Spouse, who was waiting for them on the scaffold. That via dolorosa, in what had become the grotesque carnival of death and despair which now marks the French Revolution and its Reign of Terror, may have been understood by some as a one-way journey into an abyss. This was the case with the unfortunate former mistress of Louis XV, Madame du Barry, as she went to her death in utter anguish in December 1793.² However, for the good sisters of Compiègne—who had embraced the cross long before their arrest and trial—they understood that they were journeying toward life. They were not dying, but entering into life, as their future sister in Carmel, Sister Marie de l’Incarnation (the biographer of the martyrs), would proclaim. They sang, they prayed, they renewed their vows—there was even a first profession—and they ran up the steps, and beyond the blade to Christ and the marriage feast which awaited them—into Jubilee.

The joy we in Carmel felt at their canonisation certainly prepared us for the opening ceremonies of the Jubilee. We understood that, in the midst of many difficulties in the world today—including wars and an uncertain future—we can turn to Christ. Pope Francis, in his Bull of Indiction, hoped that we would have a ‘genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the “door”.’³ This Jubilee was to offer us an opportunity to be renewed in hope, even in the midst of darkness. Christ is that hope. Indeed, as Francis reminded us, hope is born of love—a love which springs from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross.⁴ Understanding this, we are sure that the hope St Teresa of St Augustine and her companions found in their suffering was no delusion; it was a hope springing right from its true source, as they united their lives and deaths with that of Christ’s. This was surely the first milestone for us Carmelites—the stepping stone into a Jubilee of Hope and personal renewal.

Aligning with the Jubilee not by design, but by providence, the canonical recognitio and exposition of the body of St Teresa (La Madre—meaning ‘the mother’, a title of affection used by Discalced Carmelites for St Teresa), proved to be another milestone for us. Beginning in August 2024, various examinations of La Madre’s remains took place. These revealed new details of her later life and health, which brought home to many of us the sufferings she endured with patience, abandonment and good humour in her final years. The exposition of her body from 11th to 25th May brought thousands of pilgrims to Alba to pay their respects, to venerate, and to encounter, in some way, a woman who has left her mark on the Church and on many souls. This exposition was offered ‘for pilgrims to come closer to Jesus Christ and the Church, for evangelisation of all visitors and for a greater knowledge of Saint Teresa of Jesus so that we may all be enriched by the example of her life while invoking her intercession.’⁵

This was for us a pilgrimage—either physically or spiritually—to be renewed in the spirit and teachings of St Teresa. Incorporated into our living of the Jubilee of Hope, it was a moment to encounter again, perhaps in new and different ways, those things that are central to the Discalced Carmelites charism. In a year of restoration, of returning to our ‘ancestral lands’, metaphorically speaking, we see in her fidelity to God and her progress along the via sanctificationis a sign of hope for us. The figure of Teresa as a servant and proponent of renewal is not new to us. But in the context of our ‘meeting’ her in her earthly remains—of her being brought out to us and our being reminded of her presence in our lives and in the Order—she enriches our Jubilee experience.

Teresa’s Legacy

We need to be brought back to the beginning, not necessarily to start again, but to ponder the soil in which we have been planted, to see the roots of the vineyard La Madre has planted, as we pray in the Commemorations, and their fruitfulness. As Carmelites, we are not spiritual orphans. Though there is a necessary solitude to foster contemplation, we are a family, and we must look to Teresa—to guide and inspire us, to be a witness of hope. In a sense, we needed a major Teresian event for the Jubilee, to contextualise, in our particular way of life, what was happening in the universal Church—and we were given one. Indeed, as the reconstruction of Teresa’s face was presented to us, we were called not only to see her features, but to look beyond them: to her mind and heart, and to ponder the mystery of Teresa’s life and mission in the context of ours.

Providence, Promise and a Shared Spiritual Heritage

Quite unexpectedly, this year the Church found itself with a new pope. Only four previous popes have been elected in a Jubilee year⁶, so given the many challenges of combining the events of the Jubilee and coming to terms with the papacy, Pope Leo XIV has faced an arduous task. Given the rarity of such events, one might be inclined to reflect on the election in the context of the Jubilee of Hope. As we are coming to know our new pope, we are beginning to see the work of providence. Given the state of the world, the many difficulties we Christians face—both in the world and in what is, at the moment, a divided Church—this new pope seems to have a way about him which touches people’s hearts and, if events so far are an indication, his election has brought great joy.

Pope Leo is the first Augustinian friar to be elected to the papacy; other Augustinian popes were canons.⁷ He is also the first mendicant pope since Clement XIV (r. 1769–74). As he introduced himself to us, he called himself ‘a son of St Augustine’, revealing not only that he is an Augustinian friar, but his deep spiritual attachment to Augustine himself—whom he cherishes as much as we cherish Teresa. Leo’s intention to form a little Augustinian community in the papal apartment is also noteworthy. The Augustinian friars have much in common with Carmelites. Formed through the Little (1244) and Grand Unions (1256) of hermits living under the rule and spirituality of St Augustine, they embraced the mendicant life as did our friars. Devoted to contemplative prayer and apostolic activity, they have a distinct and beautiful mysticism, and this is based on Augustine’s own burning love of Christ and desire for union—a via sanctificationis which mirrors our own.

Could the election of Pope Leo XIV be seen as a providential milestone for us Carmelites in this Jubilee Year? Now, in the heart of the Church, is a pope who comes from a similar way of life; who, it seems, wants to continue that way of life, bringing a mendicant community into the papacy to support him. This is an interesting development—one which reflects St Augustine’s own life in Hippo. Pope Leo draws on a rich spiritual and theological tradition—one which played a part in St Teresa’s own life and her work for the reform of our Order. Teresa, who was educated by Augustinians, encountered Augustine in his Confessions, which proved decisive for her on her own spiritual journey and process of conversion. Both Augustine and Teresa moved from destructive ways of life, not merely to observant Christianity, but to an intense and intimate relationship with God where, for both of them, their hearts were set on fire with love for Christ.

The spirituality of Augustine and Teresa is that of friendship leading to true union with God by means of prayer, purification, abandonment and, indeed, a via mystica. This is the way Teresa teaches us, and perhaps we are being called, in the years ahead, to engage more deeply with Augustine. Perhaps God is calling the Church in these times to enter an ‘Augustinian age’, since Augustine—whose warm humanity, struggles, and intense desire for meaning—can certainly speak to so many in the Church and the world today. If this is so, then Carmelites who seek to live in the heart of the Church must be ready to embrace this call.

Seeds of Hope for the Journey Ahead

It seems, as the Jubilee ends and we continue our pilgrim journey, we do so in a richer spiritual environment—one which deepens our sense of hope. The Jubilee’s plan for restoration and renewal has a particular direction, offering a new beginning. Though not planned as part of the Jubilee, these three events seem, providentially, to have deepened this year of hope for us.

The canonisation of our martyred sisters of Compiègne offers us a joyful model of hope, even in the midst of trial and suffering. The canonical recognitio and exposition of the body of St Teresa was a moment for renewing our relationship with her, her teachings, and the charism God has given us through her. The election of our mendicant pope—still living, insofar as he can, his Augustinian way of life—urges us to be renewed in living our life in Carmel, to appreciate the company of our brothers and sisters in the Order, and to realise that we are all companions on a pilgrimage.

As this year of grace comes to an end, we have received much, and many seeds have been planted in our hearts. Now, like Mary, we must ponder what we have received and continue the ascent of the mountain.

1. Leviticus 25: 1-54; 27: 16-25. ↩︎
2. Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry, guillotined on 8^th December 1793, despairing of death, begged the executioner for a few more moments to live. See Philip M. Laski, The trial and execution of Madame Du Barry (London, 1969), p. 203. ↩︎
3. Pope Francis, Spes non confundit, Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, § 1. ↩︎
4. Ibid, § 3. ↩︎
5. Statement of the Discalced Carmelites on the public exposition of St Teresa of Jesus, 12 March, 2025: https://carmelitasalba.org/exposicion-publica-de-santa-teresa-de-jesus. ↩︎
6. Julius III (1550), Clement XI (1700), Pius VI (1775) and Pius VII (1800). ↩︎
7. Five popes were Augustinian canons regular: Honorius II (1124–1130), Innocent II (1130–1143), Lucius II (1144–1145), Hadrian IV (1154–1159), and Eugene IV (1431–1447). ↩︎