Last May, Pope Francis proclaimed a holy year, Jubilee 2025, in the papal bull “Spes Non Confundit,” which means “Hope does not disappoint.” The Holy Year will open at the Vatican Dec. 24, 2024, and close Jan. 6, 2026, the feast of Epiphany.
As part of the extraordinary year, the Holy Father has asked bishops around the world to inaugurate the Holy Year in their dioceses on Dec. 29, 2024. A Mass for the Opening of the Jubilee Year will be celebrated Dec. 29 at 6 p.m. at St. Mary’s Cathedral in St. Cloud. Vicar General Father Scott Pogatchnik will preside.
The Vatican has issued specific instructions about how the inauguration Mass is to be celebrated, including requiring that a cross of significance to the diocese be used in the celebration.
A special Jubilee Cross, crafted specifically for the Diocese of St. Cloud to welcome the new millennium nearly 25 years ago, is being refurbished for this Mass. It includes a relic of the True Cross and was blessed for the Jubilee Year 2000, according to Dominican Sister Jeanne Wiest, director of worship for the diocese.
“The Rite for the Opening of the Jubilee Year specifies that the cross used ‘be one of significance for the diocesan Church in the historical-artistic sense or because of the devotion of the people,’” Sister Jeanne said.
“As I asked various people in the diocese if such a cross existed, I was told about this particular cross,” she said. “It checks all the boxes of significance as well as beauty. The Diocese of St. Cloud is truly blessed with the vision of those people that brought it about for the 2000 Jubilee Year.”
The cross was originally designed and crafted by Cold Spring artist and organ builder K.C. Marrin, and was commissioned by the diocesan Jubilee Committee in 1999.
The Liturgy Planning Committee, a subcommittee of the Jubilee Committee, included Benedictine Sister Delores Dufner, Benedictine Father Michael Kwatera and then-worship director Gary Feldhege. They first proposed the idea of a Jubilee Cross, presenting it to the full committee for consideration, Feldhege said.
“The liturgy team recognized that K.C. Marrin, a master organ builder, had the craftsmanship and sensitivity needed for such a unique project,” Feldhege said. “His profession requires meticulous skill and an appreciation for the sacredness of his work, making him an ideal choice to create a cross that would embody the rich heritage and faith of our diocese. His expertise with fine wood and his reverence for liturgical elements aligned perfectly with the vision for the Jubilee Cross.”
The nearly 10-foot-tall cross was built using wood from the pews of both the former cathedral, Holy Angels Pro-Cathedral, and St. Mary’s Cathedral, Feldhege said. The glass was imported from Germany by Terhaar Stained Glass Studio in Cold Spring.
It was first used at the Jubilee Mass on New Year’s Eve, 1999, at St. Mary in Alexandria and stayed there for a month. It traveled throughout the diocese during the Jubilee Year, being displayed in a different deanery each month.
Unlike the Jubilee Year 2000, the cross will be enshrined in the sanctuary of the Cathedral as part of the opening procession of the Dec. 29 Mass and will remain there for the duration of the Jubilee Year 2025.
Marrin, who now volunteers at Saint John’s Abbey Woodworking, is currently cleaning and reinforcing the cross in the Abbey woodshop in preparation for the Mass.He hopes its humble beauty draws people into the holy year.
“It’s kind of a nice feeling that something [I created] has survived. It’s a legacy thing,” Marrin said. “I don’t think about it too much, but it’s good to see it. It’s got a nice history behind it.”
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Holy Year 2025 opening Mass set for Dec. 29
All are invited to a special diocesan-wide celebration to open the Jubilee Year. The Jubilee Mass will be held at 6 p.m. Sunday, Dec. 29, at St. Mary’s Cathedral.
Those attending the Jubilee Mass are asked to enter the Cathedral on the lower level. The event will begin there with a gathering rite — including a song, a greeting, a prayer, proclamation of a Gospel passage and a reading from the Bull of Indiction of the Jubilee Year, according to Dominican Sister Jeanne Wiest, director of worship for the diocese.
After the reading of the papal bull, the assembly will process with candles, out of the building and along 1st St. S. to the front steps of the Cathedral.
The Jubilee Cross will lead the procession and will be lifted upright at the top of the steps and be venerated briefly before entering the Cathedral.
At the conclusion of the opening procession, the cross will be enshrined in the sanctuary and will remain there until the close of the Jubilee Year, Jan. 6, 2026.
After the procession, the assembly will be seated and the Mass will continue.