Castel Gandolfo: As the world grapples with deepening inequalities, environmental degradation, and the fatigue of endless economic growth, a new global conversation is emerging one that dares to pause, reflect, and restart. From November 28 to 30, the historic town of Castel Gandolfo will host “Restarting the Economy”, an international gathering promoted by The Economy of Francesco, inviting economists, entrepreneurs, and young changemakers to rethink the foundations of our global systems in light of the Jubilee Year 2025.
The central theme “Restarting the Economy in the Light of the Jubilee” draws its inspiration from biblical wisdom, calling humanity to rediscover rest, restoration, and renewal as essential dimensions of economic life.
The upcoming meeting begins with a provocative question: What happens when the economy stops?
Not the financial markets or the GDP, but the deeper rhythm that drives our social and moral choices. The Jubilee tradition from Scripture invites such a pause a radical interruption of ownership, a time when debts are forgiven, the enslaved are set free, and the land itself is allowed to rest.
What appears “uneconomic” in worldly logic becomes, in the light of faith, a radical act of justice and liberation. The Jubilee reminds the world that the economy is not an end in itself, but a means a tool that must serve people, creation, and community.
Restarting the Economy seeks to rediscover this ancient wisdom for today’s challenges. The vision is of an economy that knows its limits one that slows down enough to care for the Earth, honors the dignity of labor, and treats debt not as a punishment but as a wound to be healed.
It calls for a new balance where success is not measured by perpetual growth, but by the capacity to sustain, to share, and to rest. An economy that protects relationships, restores balance to creation, and rebuilds hope in the face of exploitation and exhaustion.
Promoted by The Economy of Francesco, the movement founded in 2019 at the invitation of Pope Francis, the meeting will bring together hundreds of young economists, innovators, and social entrepreneurs from every continent. United by a shared commitment to social justice, ecological responsibility, and human dignity, the participants are part of a growing international community experimenting with alternative economic models rooted in solidarity and sustainability.
This will not be a conventional conference filled with speeches and statistics. Instead, it is designed as a “laboratory of imagination and encounter”, where participants will engage in dialogue, prayer, and creative workshops under three guiding themes: Rest, Liberation, and Restoration.
In the days leading up to the gathering, members of The Economy of Francesco will publish a series of short reflections on Vatican News, weaving the Jubilee spirit into today’s most urgent economic questions:
• What does it mean today to liberate work from exhaustion and insecurity?
• Can debt still be forgiven in a world where entire nations are trapped by it?
• Does the Earth have a right to rest, and what does that mean for economic justice?
Each reflection will offer a unique lens ecological, social, or spiritual but all share one conviction: the ancient Jubilee tradition holds prophetic wisdom for modern times. It reminds humanity that freedom, sustainability, and community are not luxuries but necessities for a future worth living.
At its core, the meeting in Castel Gandolfo seeks to rediscover the value of “enough.”
In a world driven by accumulation and speed, the Jubilee invites us to slow down to restore right relationships with people and planet. It asks us to recognize that stopping is not failure, but faith; not a loss, but a beginning.
The gathering will conclude with a collective commitment from participants to translate their insights into local actions in businesses, communities, and social projects that embody the Gospel’s call to justice and mercy.
“Restarting the Economy” is not merely an event it is a movement to renew the moral heart of economics. In the light of the Jubilee, it reminds the world that rest is revolutionary, care is productive, and that the true wealth of humanity lies not in accumulation, but in communion.