This is the logo chosen by the Vatican for the Holy Year 2025. Pope Francis has chosen the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope,” for the jubilee year, which is marked by pilgrimages, prayer, repentance and acts of mercy. CNS PHOTO/VATICAN MEDIA
Diocese of Owensboro looks forward to celebrating Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope
BY ELIZABETH WONG BARNSTEAD, THE WESTERN KENTUCKY CATHOLIC
The Catholic Church has a rich tradition of jubilees, or holy years, to celebrate the faith in various ways. This December, Pope Francis will open Holy Year 2025 with the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope.”
The jubilee was proclaimed, as is tradition, via the publication of a Papal Bull of Indiction, which is an official document bearing the seal of the pope. The Papal Bull for Holy Year 2025 is titled and begins with the words “Spes Non Confundit” (“Hope does not disappoint”), quoting Romans 5:5.
The Holy Year 2025 will open at the Vatican on Christmas Eve, Dec. 24, 2024, and close on Jan. 6, 2026, the feast of the Epiphany of the Lord. Pope Francis has asked bishops around the world to inaugurate the holy year in their respective dioceses on Dec. 29, 2024, and close the year locally on Dec. 28, 2025.
Bishop William F. Medley will inaugurate the holy year in the Diocese of Owensboro at the 11 a.m. Mass on Dec. 29 at St. Stephen Cathedral. All are welcome to attend.
The Diocese of Owensboro is in the process of releasing resources to help the faithful celebrate the “Jubilee of Hope,” as it has often been referred, and has established six pilgrimage sites within the diocese at which visitors may receive a plenary indulgence.
These sites are St. Stephen Cathedral, the Diocesan Shrine of Mary in Bowling Green, St. Leo Parish in Murray, St. Francis de Sales Parish in Paducah, St. Romuald Parish in Hardinsburg, and Holy Redeemer Parish in Beaver Dam.
More information will be coming soon from the Diocese of Owensboro, so subscribe to the diocesan e-newsletter, In the Know, at owensborodiocese.org/e-newsletter, and follow the diocese’s social media accounts at Facebook.com/DioceseOfOwensboro and Instagram.com/owensborodiocese.
Originally printed in the December 2024 issue of The Western Kentucky Catholic.
