Bishop Neary: This Jubilee Year encourages all to be ‘Pilgrims of Hope’

As we journey through Advent toward Christmas, what can be greater than the feeling of hope?

As you are aware, Pope Francis has proclaimed 2025 as a jubilee year and has chosen for its theme “Pilgrims of Hope.” Since the first Christian Jubilee was proclaimed by Pope Boniface VIII in A.D. 1300, the Church celebrated jubilee years every 100 years, then eventually shortened it to every 50 years, and finally to every 25 years.

Pope John Paul II proclaimed the Great Jubilee of the Year 2000 to celebrate the new millennium.  I remember our cautious optimism that somehow the new millennium would usher in an era of peace and goodwill among the nations. Sadly, it has not materialized.

In 2015, Pope Francis declared an extraordinary jubilee for the 50th anniversary of the end of the Second Vatican Council. That jubilee was dedicated to mercy, which has been a core theme of his preaching throughout his tenure as pope.

Pope Francis will inaugurate the 2025 Jubilee Year this Christmas Eve with the rite of the opening of the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica. After that, the Holy Doors of the other papal basilicas — St. John Lateran, St. Paul Outside the Walls, and St. Mary Major — will be opened and remain so until the end of the Jubilee Year on Jan. 6, 2026. In local dioceses the Jubilee Year will commence on the Feast of the Holy Family on Sunday, Dec. 29.

If we are honest, Pope Francis could not have chosen a better theme for this Jubilee Year than “Pilgrims of Hope.” We see Israel and other countries in the Middle East on the brink of a regional war. The war in Ukraine continues to rage and it is likely that the country’s territorial losses will continue. In our own country, it seems that our deepening political divisions are testing American democracy to a degree that hasn’t been seen in 150 years. If we add to the mix the clear signs of dramatic climate change, as well as fears about ungoverned AI, it is understandable why there is a growing sense of despair, fear and loss of hope in the future.

I believe that our hope, as people of faith, is firmly grounded in the person of Jesus Christ and his cross, the ultimate symbol of hope. The logo for the 2025 Jubilee features four figures embracing each other to symbolize solidarity and our oneness as brothers and sisters in the Lord. The figure at the front holds on to a cross, which is a sign of faith and hope. The cross bends down toward humanity to offer certainty and hope.

My own episcopal motto is “Ave Crux, Spes Unica — Hail the Cross, Our Only Hope.” As stated in the Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross: “Jesus entered into the pain and death that sin inflicts. He accepted the torment but gave us joy in return. We whom he has sent to minister amid the same sin and pain must know that we too shall find the cross and the hope it promises. The face of every human being who suffers is for us the face of Jesus who mounted the cross to take the sting out of death. Ours must be the same cross and the same hope.”

All of us in the Diocese of  St. Cloud are called to be “Pilgrims of Hope” in our daily service of others, reaching out near and far. The theme of this Jubilee Year lines up very well with the mission statement of our Diocese: “Our mission is to be His heart of mercy, voice of hope, and hands of justice.”

It seems fitting to conclude my reflection with the words of Pope Francis himself that encapsulate his deepest hopes for Jubilee Year 2025: “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire.”

When you light your Advent candles this season, may it be a reminder to reflect on how you will fan the flames of hope in the year to come.

Yours in Christ,

+Holy Cross Bishop Patrick M. Neary,  the 10th bishop of the Diocese of St. Cloud. 

Learn more about what’s happening in our diocese for the 2025 Jubilee Year here: 2025 Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope