Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv DD STL
Bishop of Parramatta
Letter from the Bishop – Jubilee 2025: ‘Pilgrims of Hope’
12 December 2024
Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe
Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,
Pope Francis has declared 2025 a Jubilee Year for our Church, themed “Pilgrims of Hope”, a year of hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and the climate crisis.
As Pope Francis states “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; that is why I have chosen as the motto of the Jubilee, Pilgrims of Hope.”
A Jubilee is a special and profound year of grace, mercy and conversion, involving prayer, pilgrimage, and sacramental repentance, held every 25 years.
The Jubilee of 2025 will commence on 24 December 2024 with the Opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica and runs to 6 January 2026, the Feast of the Epiphany, with the closing of the Door.
In our Diocese of Parramatta, I invite all to participate in the many events that will be taking place. In particular, I invite everybody to take a personal or small group pilgrimage to one or all three of our pilgrimage sites for the Jubilee Year:
• St Patrick’s Cathedral, Parramatta
• Mount Schoenstatt Shrine, Mulgoa
• The Franciscan Shrine of the Holy Innocents, Kellyville.
A Jubilee Indulgence is granted to those who make a Jubilee pilgrimage during the year. For those who cannot make a jubilee pilgrimage due to illness or other circumstances, you are invited to take part in the spiritual movement that accompanies the Jubilee year, offering up the sufferings of their daily lives, and participating in reconciliation, prayer, and the Eucharistic celebration.
The Diocese is also organising two adult pilgrimages to Rome and other countries in the footsteps of St Paul, with one specifically for young adults to coincide with the Jubilee of Youth in Rome at the end of July/early August. All are invited.
There will also be events for the many ‘jubilees’ during the year. For example, on Sunday 2 February 2025, the Feast of the Presentation of Christ in the Temple, there will be a Procession and Solemn High Mass for the Jubilee of Consecrated Life in St Patrick’s Cathedral.
As events are finalised, they will be listed on our website. Please check parracatholic.org and please follow catholicoutlook.org for further news updates.
For the Jubilee Year of Hope, I pray that it will bring about a renewed trust and confidence as we witness to the Gospel of Christ.
Yours sincerely in Christ,
Most Reverend Vincent Long Van Nguyen OFM Conv
Bishop of Parramatta
