In celebration of the 2025 Jubilee which will be inaugurated by Pope Francis this December 24th, Scala Archives is proud to showcase the rich history of past Jubilees through captivating images and a few lesser-known facts. Embark on an intriguing journey to uncover a historical treasure: a series of paintings of the Seven Churches of Rome, carefully crafted by Hans Holbein the Elder, in the Monastery of Santa Caterina in Augsburg.
The Catholic Jubilee Year of 2025 marks a significant moment in the life of the Church. Declared by Pope Francis, this Holy Year will revolve around the theme of “Pilgrims of Hope” highlighting the value of the spiritual journey and human solidarity, especially in a world filled with global challenges.
In 2025, the Jubilee will offer a time to reflect on core themes like hope, peace, and care for the Creation, in alignment with the values expressed in Pope Francis’ encyclical Laudato si’ (Praise be to You). The Pope has emphasized the need for the Jubilee to be a time of inclusion, acceptance, and dialogue, welcoming people from all faiths. Planned events will include liturgical ceremonies, ecumenical gatherings, and charitable initiatives. The Church in Rome is preparing to host millions of pilgrims, relying on the support of thousands of volunteers and logistical systems to ensure a rich and meaningful spiritual experience for all.
This Jubilee of 2025 will not only be a pivotal event for Catholics but also a universal call to hope and reconciliation, globally bringing people together in a moment of shared grace and reflection. The tradition of the Jubilee in the Catholic Church dates back to 1300, when Pope Boniface VIII declared the first Holy Year. The Jubilee became a time for reconciliation, indulgence, and spiritual renewal for the faithful. Since then, Ordinary Jubilees have been celebrated every 25 years, drawing vast crowds of pilgrims to visit the four papal basilicas and pass through the Holy Door, a powerful symbol of their journey toward spiritual renewal.
This first Jubilee marked a historic moment in the Middle Ages, attracting millions of pilgrims to Rome and cementing the city’s role as the spiritual heart of the Christian world. The Jubilee also had an important political and economic impact, as it reinforced papal authority and brought significant economic benefits to Rome.
Throughout history, the following Jubilees stand out as especially notable:
The Jubilee of 1350, declared by Pope Clement VI shortly after the Black Death, in a time of immense suffering was a message of hope and spiritual renewal.
The Jubilee of 1500, proclaimed by Pope Alexander VI, is remembered for the Renaissance grandeur that accompanied it. This Holy Year emphasized the Church’s role as a patron of art and culture. It was during this time, in fact, that artists like Michelangelo and Bramante created works that would become a legacy.
The Jubilee of 1575, under the papacy of Pope Gregory XIII, occurred during the Counter-Reformation. In an era of intense religious divisions following the Protestant Reformation, Pope Gregory sought to unify the Catholic world and promote spiritual renewal.
The Jubilee of 1950, proclaimed by Pope Pius XII shortly after World War II, highlighted the need for global reconciliation in a world devastated by conflict and in search of peace.
If you’re interested in more content about the Catholic Jubilee, click here.
Our story unravels within the Jubilee of 1487, an event proclaimed by Pope Innocent VIII to raise funds for campaigns against the Ottoman Empire which posed a serious threat to European Christianity. Unlike the ordinary Jubilees occuring every 25 years this Jubilee was proclaimed to address a specific political and religious need.
On October 19th, 1487, Pope Innocent VIII granted the cloistered Dominican nuns of the Monastery of St. Catherine in Augsburg, Germany, the indulgence typically reserved for pilgrims visiting the Seven Churches of Rome. The nuns could receive this indulgence without leaving their convent simply by reciting three Pater Nosters and three Hail Marys from three different locations within the convent.
As part of the building’s renovation, and probably to provide the nuns with images to focus their devotion upon, a cycle of lunettes for the Chapter House was commissioned from the most renowned German artists of the time. The lunettes depicted the seven major basilicas of Rome: St. John Lateran, St. Peter’s in the Vatican, San Paolo fuori le mura, Santa Maria Maggiore, San Lorenzo fuori le mura, Holy Cross in Jerusalem, and San Sebastiano fuori le mura (the latter was later replaced by Pope John Paul II with the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Divine Love during the Jubilee of 2000).
The cycle consists of six magnificent and intricately decorated lunettes created between 1499 and 1504. Two were painted by Hans Holbein the Elder, three by Hans Burgkmair the Elder, and the sixth, which depicts both the basilicas of San Lorenzo and San Sebastiano, is attributed to an anonymous artist who left the initials “L.F.” This has led to various hypotheses, though no definitive conclusion has been reached.
The lunettes, painted on wood panels, feature a cusped shape to fit the vaults of the chapter house. Each is made up of three panels, with a total width of approximately 2 by 4 meters. The churches are portrayed without architectural accuracy and are more symbolical than realistic. They are accompanied by scenes depicting the main saints of the basilicas and other related stories.
In the lunette dedicated to the Basilica of Santa Croce in Gerusalemme, for example, the focus appears to be the pilgrimage to Rome by St. Ursula and her companions from Cologne, a subject clearly significant to the German nuns.
The focus on the feminine element is further highlighted in several beautiful details. In the lunette of the Basilica of St. Paul, for instance, St. Thecla is shown seated, attentively listening to the master while, poignantly, turning her back on the martyrdom of St. Paul. Another detail, now partially lost, is a fragment from this same lunette that portrays the Prioress Veronika Welser, the donor of the piece. Her position in the far right of the composition is documented in a drawing attributed to Burgkmair, preserved in the Herzog Anton Ulrich Museum in Braunschweig.
As unusual as it may seem, this is not the only pictorial cycle depicting “substitute” pilgrimage sites. In fact, at least two others exist in Germany: one in the Monastery of Santa Clara in Villingen and another at the Collegium Georgianum in Munich, originally from the Franciscan Monastery of Kaufbeuren.
You can view the entire pictorial cycle, in this series and feel free to contact us via email for further research inquiries.
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