Competition for Jubilee 2025 Hymn

During a journey, a song will often come to mind, almost like a trusted companion expressing the traveller’s thoughts. This is also true for the journey of faith which is, after all, a pilgrimage in the light of the Risen Lord.

Singing pervades Sacred Scripture and the Psalms are a striking example of this: the prayers of the people of Israel were written to be sung, and in song the most human events are presented to the Lord.

The tradition of the Church continues this link between faith and song by making hymns and music one of the ‘lungs’ breathing life into the liturgy. The Jubilee, which is essentially an event involving a people in pilgrimage towards the Holy Door, also uses music as one way to give voice to the Jubilee motto: “Pilgrims of Hope”.

The lyrics of the Jubilee Hymn, written by Pierangelo Sequeri and set to music by Francesco Meneghello, bring together many of the themes of the Holy Year. Firstly, the motto “Pilgrims of Hope” finds a strong biblical echo in chapters from the prophet Isaiah (Isaiah 9 and 60). The themes of creation, fraternity, the tenderness of God and hope in mankind’s ultimate destination are present in a language which is not “technically” theological but is rich in theology in both its substance and its references, so that it rings in tune with the sensibilities of our time.

Step by step, believers on their pilgrimage through life, place their trust confidently in the fount of Life. The song which rises spontaneously during the journey (cf. Augustine, Discourse, 256) is addressed to God. It is a song filled with the hope of being set free and supported by Him. It is a song full of the desire that it might reach the ears of the One who originally makes it rise in the heart of the singer. It is God, who, like an ever-living flame, keeps hope alive and gives energy to the steps of the people on their earthly pilgrimage.

The prophet Isaiah repeatedly sees the family of men and women, sons and daughters, coming together after being scattered and dispersed, gathered around the light of the word of the Lord: “The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light” (Isaiah 9:1). The light is the Word made flesh, Jesus, who with his Word, gathers together every people and nation. It is the living flame of Jesus that sets the pace: “Arise! Shine, for your light has come, the glory of the Lord has dawned upon you” (Isaiah 60:1).

Christian hope is dynamic and illuminates the pilgrimage of life, revealing the faces of one’s brothers and sisters who are with us, companions on the journey. Pilgrims are not solitary wolves wandering alone, but a people who are confident and happy, moving towards their new destination. The breath of the Spirit of life brightens the dawn of the future that is soon to rise. The heavenly Father looks on the pilgrimage of his sons and daughters with patience and tenderness, and he throws open the Way by showing them Jesus, His Son, who becomes a pathway for all.

Pilgrims of Hope

(Text by Pierangelo Sequeri)

Living flame of my hope

Let this song reach out to you!

Eternal womb of infinite life

along the way I trust in You.

Every language, people and nation

finds light in your Word.

Frail and scattered sons and daughters

are welcomed in your beloved Son.

Living flame of my hope

Let this song reach out to you!

Eternal womb of infinite life

along the way I trust in You.

God looks at us, tender and patient:

the dawn of a new future is born.

New are the Heavens, Earth is made new:

overcome the walls O Spirit of life.

Living flame of my hope

Let this song reach out to you!

Eternal womb of infinite life

along the way I trust in You.

Lift your eyes, let the breeze carry you along

keep pace: God comes, in time.

Look at the Son who became Man:

thousands and thousands more find their way.

Living flame of my hope

Let this song reach out to you!

Eternal womb of infinite life

along the way I trust in You.