Signs of Hope in Selected Gregorian Chant Texts in the Context of Pope Francis’s Message of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025

Abstract

This article presents the signs of hope, listed by Pope Francis in his bull Spes non confundit, in sixteen selected Gregorian chants of the liturgical year based on the Bible in the context of the message of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025. The subject of the research is divided into two groups: the Liturgy of the Mass and the Liturgy of the Hours. For each, one piece was selected for Advent, Nativity of the Lord, Lent, Holy Week, Easter, Pentecost, Ordinary Time, and the Solemnity of Christ the King of the Universe. The author employs several methods, including theological-biblical analysis, a comparison of the message of hope by Pope Francis and the texts of the chorales, and a synthesis of the results to assess the value and pastoral usefulness of the studied chants. The text is divided into three parts: (1) Pope Francis’s message on the signs of hope; (2) signs of hope in selected Gregorian chant texts; and (3) hope-carrying potential of Gregorian chant. The author shows how selected pieces serve to revive hope and give thanks to God in the contemplation of a work of art (SNC 5). As a result, signs of hope, mentioned by Pope Francis, have been discovered in the presented pieces. Their presence testifies to the richness of the message that the Church directs to man throughout the liturgical year, also through Gregorian chant. Given the threat of experiencing the present in melancholy and boredom (SNC 12), this repertoire, through its theological-biblical and artistic values, can be one of the impulses of hope that Francis writes about.