Pope Francis has declared a Year of Mercy, beginning on December 8, 2015, and continuing until November 20, 2016.  The Year of Mercy is an Extraordinary Jubilee—a time of forgiveness and reconciliation, a time to celebrate the mercy of God.
 
“I have often thought of how the Church may render more clear her mission to be a witness to mercy…. Therefore, I have decided to announce an Extraordinary Jubilee which has at its center the mercy of God. It will be a Holy Year of Mercy. We want to live in the light of the word of the Lord: ‘Be merciful, even as your Father is merciful’ (cf. Lk 6:36). And this especially applies to confessors! So much mercy!
 
This Holy Year will commence on the next Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception and will conclude on Sunday, 20 November 2016, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe and living face of the Father's mercy… 
 
I am confident that the whole Church, which is in such need of mercy for we are sinners, will be able to find in this Jubilee the joy of rediscovering and rendering fruitful God’s mercy, with which we are all called to give comfort to every man and every woman of our time. Do not forget that God forgives all, and God forgives always. Let us never tire of asking forgiveness. Let us henceforth entrust this Year to the Mother of Mercy, that she turn her gaze upon us and watch over our journey: our penitential journey, our year-long journey with an open heart, to receive the indulgence of God, to receive the mercy of God.”
 
Read more about the Year of Mercy at the official web page for the Jubilee, http://www.iubilaeummisericordiae.va/content/gdm/en.html

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