As we continue to pray for Pope Francis through the Novemdiales – the period of mourning after the death of a pope – we also celebrate his legacy. Pope Francis was committed to upholding the dignity of workers and, with modifications, the ‘Jubilee for Workers’ and the ‘Jubilee for Entrepreneurs’ are both going ahead at the start of May.
Bishop Richard Moth, Chair of the Department for Social Justice of the Bishops’ Conference, has issued this statement on the ‘Jubilee for Workers’ that takes place from 1–4 May 2025.
In the first four days of May, beginning with the feast of St Joseph the Worker, the Church celebrates the ‘Jubilee for Workers’. This comes at a difficult time for workers in England and Wales. Many workers who are supporting themselves and their families through paid employment may be struggling with high living costs, including the cost of buying or renting a home, as well as with insecurity in their employment conditions. Those who wish to work in the home, caring for family members, are often prevented from doing so by financial circumstances.
In her social teaching, the Church has always put the dignity and needs of the worker at the forefront of her concerns. I would like to stress that employers, who may also be suffering in the current economic environment, should pay a living wage and treat their workers with dignity in all respects. Government should play its part in promoting the dignity of the worker through prudent regulation of employment conditions.
Towards the end of the 19th century, Pope Leo XIII, in the first papal encyclical devoted to social matters (Rerum Novarum, 1891), reminded employers that misusing employees as though they were objects in the pursuit of gain is “truly shameful and inhuman”. Whilst employers who do this may be a minority, the Church teaches that those who mistreat workers must be held to account.
Fraternity is a key theme of Pope Francis’s social teaching. It should never be forgotten that workplaces are places of encounter; they are places of fraternity and socialisation. Workers, managers and employers can all play their part in creating a harmonious working environment which is conducive to the promotion of the common good. Even where work is demanding, the workplace should be a place of growth and fulfilment.
For Christians, our religion is not merely an ‘identity characteristic’ but fundamental to our being. Employees should therefore not feel any conflict between fulfilling their religious duties and the world of work. They should also not fear that the exercise of their conscience in the workplace will lead to a negative impact on their career.
I also ask Catholics to try to find some time for prayer during the working day – even if it is only a moment or two. It is important to offer our working day to God, to ask Him for help with the challenges we face, and to thank him for the blessings that come from work.
We should also remember, during this ‘Jubilee for Workers’, that there are many millions of people who work in the home: not all work is paid work. And work in the home is as demanding, and often more so, as work in any other setting. Again, prudent public policy should ensure that families who wish to do so can care for their loved ones at home.
On the 90th anniversary of Pope Leo XIII’s encyclical, Pope Saint John Paul II reminded us that “the Church is convinced that work is a fundamental dimension of man’s existence on earth.” On this Jubilee for Workers, I ask all Catholics to remind themselves of this and play to play your part in promoting the dignity of work.
We ask for the intercession of St Joseph the Worker, asking that all adults of working age in our society can realise their dignity through work.
Bishop Richard Moth
Chair, Department for Social Justice
Catholic Bishops’ Conference of England and Wales
The Dicastery for Evangelization, Section for Fundamental Questions regarding Evangelization in the World, in light of the current circumstances, informs that the program for the Jubilee of Workers, scheduled for 1–4 May 2025, and for the Jubilee of Entrepreneurs, scheduled for 4–5 May 2025, has been modified. For the pilgrims who will come to Rome on those dates, only the Jubilee rite of pilgrimage and crossing of the Holy Doors of the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter and the other Papal Basilicas will take place – a privileged moment of Hope and Faith.
