Action plans

On 7 September, the final day of the Congregation of the Annunciation’s General Chapter, there was a 45-minute presentation on the Jubilee at the invitation of Abbot Maksymilian Nawara. He said the Chapter would reflect on the presentation, and he would send through the actions decided.

The answer came back very quickly and the result was a very encouraging plan, in which the Congregation is planning a positive response. I encourage all to look at this action plan and see how elements can be incorporated in your monastery or region. As Abbot Jeremias has said from the beginning, this will be a decentralised jubilee where the key actions will be locally generated.

Pilgrim Passport

A prototype of the Benedictine passport was launched on 11th July after the talk by Abbot Jeremias at Ealing Abbey in the UK. Here is a picture of Fr Alexander Bevan, the Prior, putting the Ealing Abbey stamp into the first passport. Coming soon, we will upload onto the website a PDF in different languages which can be downloaded and printed.

And the passport works! Following the handing out of the passport, two members of the Lay Community of St Benedict decided to visit Stanbrook Abbey for the first time, motivated to get their passport stamped. On arrival there was some uncertainty about locating the monastic seal, but within a short time, it was found and the passport was duly stamped. They were the first two visitors, we could say, whose journey was generated by a Jubilee initiative – may there be many more.

Jubilee Book

On 7 September, the Jubilee book Places of Hope Since 529 was launched at the CIB meeting in Rome. One hundred copies were given to the delegates.

The book is a compilation of 40 authors who come from all over the world, talking about the Benedictine way of life. They are a mix of household names along with less well-known authors. Photos were sourced for the book from throughout the worldwide family of Benedictine congregations of monks and nuns. Copies can be obtained through the EOS Verlag website and this is the link: https://eos-verlag.net/Places-of-Hope-since-529.

A book review will appear in a future edition of Nexus.

Rome year preparations

Since March there have been several meetings to plan for the Rome year of the Jubilee in 2027. The promoter is Abbot Donato Ogliari, working with the Rome Co-ordinator, Fr Showraiah Guvvala of the Sylvestrine Congregation. The plans are coming together, and we will be able to announce more in the coming weeks. One of the highlights of 2027 in Rome will be the 500th Jubilee celebrations of the nuns of Santa Cecilia.

Here are some events which are already planned.

Connect with social media/communications

As announced in the last NEXUS, since June 2026, our social media channels have taken on a fresh new look with consistent, regular posting. We have tripled the number of followers (to 600, for example, on Instagram). This is still a very modest number so please do the following actions:

• Follow us: Find us at @osbdotorg on Instagram, X, and Facebook.
• Tag us: Use the hashtags #placesofhope and #benedictinejubilee in your local posts so we can share your updates
• Subscribe to the Jubilee Newsletter: the new Jubilee newsletter was launched this July, three editions have been published (one per month) and we already have nearly 1,000 subscribers. Please add your name by going to the link jubilee.osb.org/subscribe

Get involved – we need help from each monastery

We are building a worldwide social media network. If you are responsible for social media, public relations or communications in your monastery or congregation, or if you use a third party who can help, please contact me and let me know. This is going to be a critical element of spreading our Jubilee message of hope.

With this I send all Nexus readers my very best wishes and ask your prayers for the fruitfulness of the Jubilee.

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