The Jubilee journey has begun!

The photograph shows monks and nuns on the move, walking around the walls of Norcia. They are making their way from the Basilica, where we celebrated the opening of the Norcia year, to San Benedetto in Monte, where we enjoyed lunch as guests of the Norcia monastic community.

In this regular column, I will share with readers of Nexus the four-year journey toward 2029, in which Benedictine communities across the world are being invited to prepare locally and imaginatively for the Jubilee. I hope each month to offer news of what is beginning to emerge in this time of gratitude, penitence, renewal and hope.

Website

The Jubilee website was given a soft launch on the Feast of the Transitus of Saint Benedict, 21 March 2026. A message was sent by Abbot Jeremias Shröder, offering monasteries what he called “a sneak preview” while the final work was still being completed.

As I write, we are preparing for the official launch. The site will include a beautiful new module showcasing all the male monasteries of the world, in a more modern and accessible form than its predecessor, the OSB Atlas. The female monasteries will follow soon; we are currently finalising the collection and upload of the data.

The website will be one of the pillars of the Jubilee. We hope it will draw many visitors, helping them to discover monasteries, communities and the Benedictine way of life.

Themes

Each year of preparation has a theme. Together, these themes form a spiritual journey following the life of Saint Benedict.

In 2026, Awaken begins in Norcia, the birthplace of Saint Benedict and Saint Scholastica. This year invites us into gratitude, remembrance, baptismal renewal and a fresh response to Christ’s call.

Abbot Xavier Perrin of Quarr Abbey, Abbess Eustochium Lee of St Cecilia’s, and Abbot Benedict Nivakoff of Norcia have written articles for the website inspired by the theme of Awaken. This is also an open invitation: please do send articles, blogs or reflections inspired by this theme, with or without photographs.

Events

Signature events will be an important part of the Jubilee. Montecassino is already planning an exciting programme for the next four years. There will be events in Rome in 2027, the year of Listen, focusing on Saint Benedict’s time there. In July 2029, we hope that there will also be a signature event at Westminster Abbey, London, bringing together monks, nuns and laypeople from across the country.

Please do share news of upcoming events, so that they can be made known through Nexus and the Jubilee website.

Regional organisers

One of the ways the Jubilee is being organised is by region. On 29 June, we will hold a meeting bringing together regional promoters. This will be a forum for sharing ideas, experiences and different approaches to the Jubilee.

The Jubilee is not intended to be a programme imposed from the centre. It is an invitation to communities everywhere to let something grow locally: to prepare their own places of hope, and to share the fruits with the wider Benedictine family.

Adam Simon
2029 Project Coordinator
adam.simon@anselmianum.com