The Jubilee of World Communications will kick off today, the 24th January 2025 with a welcoming and Penitential Liturgy at St. John Lateran Basilica then it will be followed by the International Mass for the Feast of Saint Francis De Sales the Patron Saint of the Communicators. The Jubilee will conclude Sunday, the 26th of January 2025 at St. Peter’s Basilica at the Vatican City with Holy Mass to be presided over by the Holy Father.
World Communications Day 2025 theme calls for gentleness.
Pope Francis chooses the theme for 59th World Communications Day 2025 that calls on people to “share with gentleness the hope that is in your hearts” (cf 1 Pt 3: 15-16). This communication creates the condition for dialogue. This theme aims to bring attention to the fact that in today’s world, “too often communication is violent, aimed at striking and not at establishing the conditions for dialogue.” This calls for efforts “to disarm communication, to cleanse it of aggression.” The prevailing standard seems to be that of competition, opposition, and dominance, as can be seen in television talk shows and verbal wars on social media. It is clear that for Christians, “hope is a person, and He is Christ.” This hope is tied to community, since “when we speak of Christian hope, we cannot disregard a community that lives the message of Jesus in such a credible way as to give a glimpse of the hope that it brings and is capable of communicating the hope of Christ with deeds and words even today.”
World Communications Day is usually celebrated on the Sunday before Pentecost. Pope Paul VI established the Day in 1967 in the wake of the Second Vatican Council as an annual celebration that encourages reflecting on the opportunities and challenges that the media offer and how the Church can better communicate the Gospel message.
Today being the Memorial of Saint Francis de Sales bishop and doctor of the Church, we pray for all those who work in the Social Communication department in the IMBISA Region. May the Good Lord help us to add more value to our audience through a diligent, virtuous, and up-to-date way of disseminating information in our region. May I also take this opportunity to encourage all our conferences to have a specific day to celebrate the communication jubilee in our respective countries.
Happy Feast to all the journalists and the media fraternity in the IMBISA Region.