The Jubilee sites are holy places. Visiting them can lead to obtaining the spiritual benefits connected with the Jubilee indulgence, following the rules laid down by the Apostolic Penitentiary.
In addition to the four Papal Basilicas in Rome - St Peter’s in the Vatican, St John Lateran, St Mary Major and St Paul Outside the Walls – where the four Holy Doors are open, the Penitentiary has identified other Jubilee sites.
In the Holy Land, the Basilicas of the Annunciation (Nazareth), of the Nativity (Bethlehem) and of the Holy Sepulchre (Jerusalem) have been indicated as “Jubilee sites.”
The Assembly of the Catholic Ordinaries of the Holy Land has issued a decree in which it indicates as further “jubilee sites” the church of the Baptism of the Lord - Al Maghtas, in Jordan, the church of St Mary of Graces in Larnaka (Cyprus) and the church of St Elizabeth of Hungary in Kyrenia (North Cyprus).
The mystery of the Incarnation begins here with the announcement by the angel Gabriel to Mary, a young woman of Nazareth in the Galilee.
For the Christian faith, the child who was conceived in her is the Christ and the son of God.
The modern basilica contains the precious remains of «Mary’s House», together with other testimonies to the long history of the Christian presence.
According to the tradition, the grotto of the Nativity is the place where Christ was born of the Virgin Mary. On this grotto, a Basilica with a nave and 4 aisles was built and it is accessible through a humble entrance.
Around the grotto of the Nativity, there are other grottoes tied to the memory of St. Jerome.
Next to the Basilica lies the Church of St. Catherine preceded by a small courtyard.
Today Basilica of the Holy Sepulchre preserves the memories of the last hours of Our Lord Jesus on earth: Calvary, where Christ saved the world and the Stone of Anointing, the traditional stone on which his body was laid before burial.
In the middle of the Rotunda is the Tomb of Christ, covered with marble. It is from here that Our Saviour rose on the third day.
Al-Maghtas, also known as “Bethany beyond the Jordan”, is an archaeological site on the eastern bank of the River Jordan, in Jordan, traditionally identified as the place where Jesus was baptized. The sites houses a number of churches and religious facilities built over the centuries.
On 10 January 2025, the Latin church dedicated to the “Baptism of Jesus”, which stands a few metres from the bank of the River Jordan, was inaugurated. The area has been designated as a national park to preserve the site and make it a pilgrimage destination.
The church dedicated to the “Virgin Mary of the Graces” is an important place of worship for the Cypriot Catholic community. It was founded in 1596 by the Franciscan Callixte Martel and, together with the adjacent convent, was used in particular as a hospice for pilgrims on their way to the Holy Land.
After the Ottoman conquest of Cyprus in 1571, the Franciscans were among the few Western religious authorized to return to the island: they have been present uninterruptedly since 1593. The present-day building dates back to 1848 and is in the care of the Franciscans of the Custody of the Holy Land.
Standing in the northern part of Cyprus, it was built in 1907, during the British colonial period and used by the local Catholic community. It was dedicated to St Elizabeth of Hungary, who was well known for her charity and devotion.
It is looked after by the friars of the Custody of the Holy Land, who celebrate Mass there every Sunday and during the solemnities.
