Here is a presentation of JC2033 that I gave at the Ecumenical Congress of the Focolare Movement at the end of March 2025 in Castelgandolfo, near Rome.
JC2033 proposes a path of unity and witness towards the celebrations of the 2000th anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus Christ in 2033.
A small interfaith team visited leaders of Church communions and Christian missions in 60 countries. More than 1,000 people were visited. The vast majority welcome the idea of doing great things together on the occasion of this bimillennium and its preparation.
Could we seize this opportunity to live this Jubilee together?
The Jubilee of Redemption in the Catholic Church
The Catholic Church organised the first ‘Jubilee of Redemption’ during the ‘Holy Year 1933’ and then again in 1983. It will undoubtedly organise a global programme in 2033, as it did in 2000.
Can we seize this opportunity to organise the Jubilee of 2033 together, in an ecumenical manner, in our cities, in our countries and throughout the world? It would be wonderful to have an ecumenical Jubilee!
The values of JC2033
JC2033 has three values: Unity, Witness and Celebration. If we want to give a common witness and celebrate Christ together in 2033, we must seek greater unity among ourselves.
A ‘journey of unity and witness’
To prepare for Easter 2033, we invite you to join us on a ‘journey of unity and witness’ towards 2033.
This journey has three stages:
The first stage runs from today until 2030: a time of agreement (with an emphasis on unity).
The second stage runs from 2030 to 2033, when we make known Jesus’ earthly ministry in the Gospels and serve in his name (with an emphasis on witness in word and deed).
The third stage is the Easter celebrations in 2033 (with an emphasis on celebration).
A ‘Way of Emmaus’
Like the disciples of Emmaus, we trust that Jesus is walking among us and that little by little he will enlighten us on the path to follow.
Every year until 2033, we organise an ecumenical walk along the Way of Emmaus, with visits to communities along the way. We have already done this twice. It was a wonderful experience. You are welcome to walk with us!
Visits to 60 countries
We have visited more than 1,000 church leaders in 60 countries. Here are five important leaders: Pope Francis, Patriarch Bartholomew, Archbishop Justin Welby, Anglican Church, Ephraim Tendero, World Evangelical Alliance, Jerry Pillay, World Council of Churches
International ecumenical meetings
Every two years, we invite people to an international meeting.
The first took place in Brussels, Belgium, in 2019. In September 2021, we travelled to the Coptic Orthodox Monastery of Anafora, in the Egyptian desert, where we organised this meeting with the Council of Churches of Egypt. There were 280 participants (a third of whom were young people between the ages of 18 and 25).
In March 2023, our ecumenical meeting was held in Cartagena, Colombia, on the theme ‘Together for the Decade.’ Two hundred people participated. It was a wonderful encounter between members of various Churches, particularly between Catholics and Pentecostals.
Finally, in February this year, Geneva hosted the global gathering, with 220 participants. The last evening welcomed an additional 400 young people from various churches in Geneva.
Towards 2033 with other movements
JC2033 began back in 2007. But today, several movements have put the year 2033 on their agenda. These movements are meeting and want to collaborate. Here are three recent examples:
Invited by the Catholic movement Global 2033, in February 2024, 160 Christian leaders representing 123 movements in 60 countries gathered in Krakow. The aim was to prepare for the celebration of the 2000th anniversary of the resurrection of Jesus.
In Asia, ‘One Billion Souls Harvest’ wants to reach 1 billion people with the Gospel by 2033.
On the initiative of Pentecostals Rick Warren and Billy Wilson, 25 global Christian movements gathered in New York on 2 and 3 December 2024 for a ‘Round Table 2033’.
Since I started working with JC2033 in 2016, we have visited the various Focolares, starting with Centro Uno. The Focolare were particularly active during the meetings in Cairo, Cartagena and Geneva. The photos below show some of the Focolares we visited, including Oslo, Moscow, Geneva, Jerusalem, Beirut and Istanbul.
‘Agenda 2033’
Pope Francis entrusted Charis, the International Service of the Catholic Charismatic Renewal, with the task of connecting the movements by keeping an ‘Agenda 2033’ where each movement can share what it is experiencing. Olivier Fleury and I participated in a meeting between leaders of various Catholic, Anglican, Evangelical and Pentecostal movements in November 2033 in Rome.
Pope Francis asked this question about the journey towards 2033: ‘What can you do starting tomorrow? Have you thought about it?’
Easter Together 2025
JC2033 is also participating in the initiative Easter Together 2025, where we bring the horizon of the pilgrimage towards 2033 and recall the centrality of the resurrection of Jesus.
Dear friends, I invite you to reflect on how you could contribute to preparing this Jubilee in an ecumenical way in your region.
Perhaps you could become ambassadors for 2033? There are now 205 of them from 56 countries.
A vision
I will conclude with a vision: that during Easter 2033, every person will hear in their mother tongue, ‘Christ is risen… He is truly risen!’… in 7,356 languages!
If we do nothing together for Him in 2033… the stones will cry out!
But if He is risen in 2033, He is already here and now! He is forever our contemporary, the only Just and Holy One among us.
He will enlighten us on this path of unity and witness if we walk with Him.
Let us walk together with Jesus in our midst towards 2033… welcoming one another as He has welcomed us!
For further information, please visit our website, available in 14 languages: www.jc2033.world – email: info@jc2033.world
Martin Hoegger