As the Jubilee Year of Hope approaches, Auxiliary Bishop Michael Woost provided background on the special year to those attending a recent program hosted by the First Friday Forum of Lorain County.
“The jubilee year overlaps with the ongoing Eucharistic Revival, but it’s different,” he said, explaining that jubilee years generally are celebrated every quarter century. There was an exception recently when an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy was celebrated from Dec. 8, 2015 to Nov. 20, 2016. The upcoming jubilee year was announced by Pope Francis on Feb. 11, 2022 in a letter to the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of the New Evangelization. The year will conclude on the solemnity of the Epiphany on Jan. 6, 2026.
In the Diocese of Cleveland, the observance will begin with a gathering at St. Peter Church at East 17th Street and Superior Avenue in Cleveland on Dec. 29. There will be prayer, a Gospel reading and an explanation of the jubilee year before a procession forms and marches to the Cathedral of St. John the Evangelist, where Bishop Edward Malesic will celebrate Mass at 5:30 p.m. The liturgy will be livestreamed and can be viewed on the diocesan website.
Bishop Woost explained that the procession “is a sign of the journey of hope of the pilgrim people behind the cross of Christ.” Once the procession reaches the cathedral, Bishop Malesic will lift the special jubilee cross, ask the faithful to venerate it and invite them into the cathedral church for Mass.
The liturgy will be for the celebration of the Feast of the Holy Family. In the cathedral, Bishop Malesic will go to the baptismal font to renew the community by the remembrance of their baptism. The Mass will then continue as usual.
During this special jubilee year, Bishop Woost said an indulgence will be granted to those who make a pilgrimage to Rome and pass through the Holy Door that Pope Francis will open and also venerate the relics of the apostles Peter and Paul.
Holy Doors also will be opened at the four major basilicas in Rome: St. Peter, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls and Rebibbia Prison on the outskirts of Rome, as a message of hope for those incarcerated throughout the world. Those unable to travel to Rome can visit locations in the diocese that are designated as jubilee sites.
A special logo was designed for the jubilee year, the bishop said. It features four stylized figures representing humanity coming from all four corners of the earth and embracing one another. At the front, a figure holds a cross as a sign of faith and hope, he explained.
“Hope does not disappoint,” Bishop Woost said, reflecting on the pope’s words.
He explained the jubilee indulgence as a concrete manifestation of God’s mercy, which he said goes beyond and transforms the boundaries of human justice. “The jubilee indulgence allows us to free our hearts from the weight of sin because the reparation due for our sins is given freely and abundantly,” the bishop added.
The indulgence usually accompanies an act of personal or public piety, like works of charity and penance, a spiritual practice, a suffering patiently endured with faith, he said. A plenary indulgence removes all of the temporal punishment due to sin, Bishop Woost said. To gain the indulgence, one must have the desire to do so, engage in acts of piety or charity outlined by the pope and the Church’s decree and to participate in confession, receive holy Communion, pray for the Holy Father’s intentions (ordinarily, one Our Father and one Hail Mary) several says before, during or after seeking the indulgence.
The indulgence may be obtained during the jubilee year by visiting at least one of the four major basilicas in Rome, visiting the Holy Land and at least one of the three basilicas there or visiting St. John’s Cathedral or one of the other seven churches or three shrines in the diocese designed by Bishop Malesic. Designated sacred sites are the cathedral and one parish in each of the eight counties in the diocese: St. Edward, Ashland; St. Mary, Chardon; Immaculate Conception, Madison; Nativity of the Blessed Virgin Mary, Lorain; St. Colette, Brunswick; Queen of Heaven, Uniontown and SS. Peter and Paul, Doylestown. In addition, there are three shrines designated at jubilee sites: Our Lady of Lordes Shrine, Euclid; Queen of the Holy Rosary Shrine, Parma Heights, and the Shrine of St, Ann, Highland Heights. Click here for more information on the sacred sites in the diocese.
Other conditions for the indulgence require visiting a jubilee site individually or in a group, engaging in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the creed and prayers to Mary, the mother of God.
The faithful also should participate in parish missions, spiritual exercises or formation activities on the documents of Vatican II or the catechism and participating in acts of mercy and penance. Bishop Woost will present parish missions at three locations this Lent: March 16-18, St. Sebastian Parish in Akron; March 23-25 at St. Ambrose Parish in Brunswick and March 30 to April 1 at St. Ladislas Parish in Westlake.
“Remember, hope does not disappoint,” Bishop Woost said.
Learn more about the Jubilee Year of Hope here. Watch the diocesan website for more information about the special year.