Following the first announcement of the coming extraordinary Holy Year which was announced by Pope Francis on March 13 of this year, the Holy Father will officially convoke the Year of Mercy with the publication of the Decree of Convocation (otherwise referred to as a Bull) on Saturday, April 11, 2015 at 5:30pm local time in Saint Peter's Basilica.
The rite of publication includes the reading of a few excerpts from the Bull in front of the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica. Pope Francis will then preside at the celebration of First Vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday, thus emphasizing in a particular way the fundamental theme of the extraordinary Holy Year: the Mercy of God.
The term Bull (from the latin bulla, which means bubble or, in a more general sense, a round object) originally referred to the metal capsule used to protect the wax seal which was attached by a lanyard to a document of particular importance, in order to certify its authenticity and consequent authority. In time, the term was used to indicate the first seal, then the document itself. Today, it is used to refer to all pontifical documents of particular importance which bear, or which have traditionally borne the Pontifical seal.
The Bull of Convocation for a jubilee, especially in the case of an extraordinary Holy Year, in addition to indicating the times, with the dates of the opening and closing of the year, is the principal mode of announcing the Year: that is to say that it is the fundamental document for recognizing the spirit in which the intentions and fruits hoped for by the Pontiff are outlined for the entire Church.
In the case of the last two extraordinary Holy Years, in 1933 and in 1983, the Bull of Convocation was published on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. For the forthcoming extraordinary Holy Year, the choice of the timing in which the Bull will be published also clearly indicates the precise intentions of the Holy Father toward the theme of Mercy.
The rite of publication includes the reading of a few excerpts from the Bull in front of the Holy Door of the Vatican Basilica. Pope Francis will then preside at the celebration of First Vespers of Divine Mercy Sunday, thus emphasizing in a particular way the fundamental theme of the extraordinary Holy Year: the Mercy of God.
The term Bull (from the latin bulla, which means bubble or, in a more general sense, a round object) originally referred to the metal capsule used to protect the wax seal which was attached by a lanyard to a document of particular importance, in order to certify its authenticity and consequent authority. In time, the term was used to indicate the first seal, then the document itself. Today, it is used to refer to all pontifical documents of particular importance which bear, or which have traditionally borne the Pontifical seal.
The Bull of Convocation for a jubilee, especially in the case of an extraordinary Holy Year, in addition to indicating the times, with the dates of the opening and closing of the year, is the principal mode of announcing the Year: that is to say that it is the fundamental document for recognizing the spirit in which the intentions and fruits hoped for by the Pontiff are outlined for the entire Church.
In the case of the last two extraordinary Holy Years, in 1933 and in 1983, the Bull of Convocation was published on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. For the forthcoming extraordinary Holy Year, the choice of the timing in which the Bull will be published also clearly indicates the precise intentions of the Holy Father toward the theme of Mercy.
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