The Royal Monastery of Santa María de Guadalupe, in the province of Cáceres (Extremadura), inaugurated this Sunday the Guadalupense Holy Year 2026-2027, with the opening of the Jubilee Door and a Mass presided over by the Archbishop of Toledo and Primate of Spain, Monsignor Francisco Cerro Chaves. During the celebration, the prelate invited the dioceses throughout Spain to participate in the pilgrimages and events planned during the Jubilee.
«We want all Spanish dioceses to take part in this jubilee grace», Cerro stated during his homily. The Holy Year will continue until September 8, 2027 and will feature celebrations over the coming months aimed, among others, at children, young people, married couples and families.
The Guadalupense Holy Year is celebrated when the September 6, liturgical feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, falls on a Sunday, according to the Archdiocese of Toledo, which attributes this arrangement to Saint Pius X.
Bishops of Extremadura participate in the opening
The celebration was presided over by Cerro, whose archdiocese has ecclesiastical jurisdiction over Guadalupe, and was attended by the bishops of the ecclesiastical province of Mérida-Badajoz: Archbishop José Rodríguez Carballo; the Bishop of Coria-Cáceres, Jesús Pulido Arriero; and the Bishop of Plasencia, Ernesto Brotóns Tena.
Also present were the Bishop Emeritus of Segovia and native of Guadalupe, Ángel Rubio; the Bishops Emeriti of Jaén and Albacete, Amadeo Rodríguez Magro and Ciriaco Benavente Mateos, respectively; and more than 25 priests from the dioceses present in Extremadura, as well as members of the Franciscan community that serves the Royal Monastery.
The ceremony began in the old church of the Holy Trinity, from where the procession departed toward the Basilica of Santa María de Guadalupe. Before the Holy Door, Cerro pronounced the opening prayer and opened the Jubilee Door with his crozier.
The Mass was then celebrated, during whose beginning the decree of the Holy See granting the Guadalupense Jubilee Year was read.
An invitation to make a pilgrimage from all over Spain
In his homily, the Primate recalled the previous Jubilee Year of Guadalupe, which began in 2020 and was extended until 2022 due to the pandemic. According to the data provided by Cerro, during that period around 300,000 pilgrims arrived at the shrine.
The Archbishop stated that it was the «second most important jubilee in Spain, after that of Santiago de Compostela» and described the new Jubilee as a «singular historical moment».
Cerro also noted that he had spoken about the Holy Year with Leo XIV during the audience he held with the Pontiff on August 24 at the Vatican, on the occasion of the pilgrimage for the 45th anniversary of the Toledan association Marsodeto.
During the homily, the Archbishop presented gratitude, humility and trust as the three keys to living the Jubilee, following the pastoral letter Your Mother is looking for you, jointly signed by the bishops of Toledo, Mérida-Badajoz, Coria-Cáceres and Plasencia.
In developing the first of these, Cerro expressed the intention that the pilgrimages not be limited to Extremadura and Toledo. «We want all Spanish dioceses to take part in this jubilee grace», he stated.
The program of the Holy Year includes various jubilee celebrations centered on Our Lady of Guadalupe over the coming months. The jubilee period will remain open until September 8, 2027.