A Jubilee, or Holy Year, is a special year of forgiveness, reconciliation, conversion and celebration. In Jewish tradition, the Jubilee Year was a time of joy, the year of remission or universal pardon. "Thou shalt sanctify the fiftieth year, and shalt proclaim remission to all the inhabitants of thy land: for it is the year of jubilee." (Leviticus 25:10). In the Roman Catholic tradition, Jubilees date back to Pope Boniface VIII who convoked a Holy Year in 1300. Since then ordinary Jubilee years have been celebrated every 25 or 50 years. An important part of a Holy Year is making a pilgrimage to sacred places, particularly the designated Churches in Rome and passing through the Holy Door at the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter.
The Jubilee Year 2025 has been called for by our Holy Father, Pope Francis as a Year of Hope. As the Holy Father wrote in the Bull of Indiction for the Holy Year, “Hope, together with faith and charity, makes up the triptych of the “theological virtues” that express the heart of the Christian life (cf. 1 Cor13:13; 1Thess 1:3). In their inseparable unity, hope is the virtue that, so to speak, gives inward direction and purpose to the life of believers.” (Spes non confundit #18)
In view of this, I, The Most Reverend Robert Joseph McManus, Bishop of the Diocese of Worcester, in union with his Holiness, Pope Francis, encourage the faithful of this Diocese to observe prayerfully and with renewed devotion the Jubilee Year of the Lord 2025. In addition to pilgrimages to Rome, I have designated ten churches in our Diocese as official “Churches of Pilgrimage.” Those faithful visiting these churches will receive the spiritual graces and benefits of this Jubilee Year.
I hereby designate the following as Churches of Pilgrimage for the Jubilee Year 2025:
The Cathedral of Saint Paul, Worcester
Our Lady of the Holy Rosary Church at Annunciation Parish, Gardner
Our Lady of the Rosary Church at Mary, Queen of the Rosary Parish, Spencer
Notre Dame Church at Saint John Paul II Parish, Southbridge
Saint Cecilia Church, Leominster
Saint Paul Church at Divine Mercy Parish, Blackstone
Saint John the Evangelist Church at Saint John, Guardian of our Lady Parish, Clinton
Sacred Heart of Jesus Church, Milford
Saint Matthew Church, Southborough
Saint Joseph Basilica, Webster
Given in Worcester, on the eighteenth day of November, Two thousand and twenty four, the Dedication of the Basilica of Ss. Peter and Paul, Apostles.
Most Reverend Robert Joseph McManus, Bishop of Worcester