by Bishop Robert Marshall

Dear sisters and brothers in Christ,

“Spes non confundit – Hope does not disappoint.”  With this quote from St. Paul’s letter to the Romans, our Holy Father Pope Francis summons us as “Pilgrims of Hope” to celebrate 2025 as a Jubilee Year.  Since the year 1300, the Church has invited the faithful to observe Jubilees – at first, every 100 years; later, every 50 years; and more recently, every 25 years.  Recalling the Great Jubilee of the year 2000 proclaimed by Pope St. John Paul II, in which we joyfully welcomed the new millennium, Pope Francis calls us to look beyond the difficulties of the present age and to experience hope: 

Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings, ranging from confident trust to apprehensiveness, from serenity to anxiety, from firm conviction to hesitation and doubt. Often we come across people who are discouraged, pessimistic and cynical about the future, as if nothing could possibly bring them happiness. For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope.

As pilgrims of this renewed hope, we are invited to journey toward a prayerful encounter with the Lord at sacred spaces throughout the world – the four major basilicas in Rome, other historic and sacred sites in the Holy Land, and many other great churches all over the world.  A pilgrimage to a sacred space is an ancient tradition.  In St. Luke’s gospel, we are told that the Holy Family – Jesus, Mary and Joseph – travelled annually to Jerusalem for the Feast of Passover.  Great Eucharistic Pilgrimages converged in Indianapolis this past summer for the National Eucharistic Congress, and “Walking with One” is the ongoing activity of this final year of the National Eucharistic Revival.  In this diocese, I will designate St. Francis Xavier Cathedral in Alexandria, the Minor Basilica of the Immaculate Conception in Natchitoches, and several other local churches as Jubilee pilgrimage sites.  Look for a “Pilgrim’s Passport” as a guide to these diocesan sites in the coming year.  A true pilgrimage, however, is less about the number of miles travelled, and more about an authentic journey of the heart toward a new or deeper relationship with Jesus Christ.  May our pilgrimages of hope in 2025 – whether long or short – draw us more closely to our loving God.

We will be building on the message of hope in other ways in the coming year.  In the Diocese of Alexandria, we will soon begin a program of pastoral planning and discernment to help us come together as one church and to embrace a future of hope.  Each parish and mission will be invited to acknowledge their particular blessings and challenges and discern how they might more effectively proclaim the Kingdom of God.  Look for an announcement about this project on Tuesday, December 3, the Feast of St. Francis Xavier, our patron saint.

Another characteristic of a Jubilee Year is an emphasis on reconciliation and forgiveness.  Each of us is invited to celebrate the Sacrament of Reconciliation on a regular basis.  The fountain of God’s mercy flows abundantly from the Sacred Heart of Christ – we are invited to drink from that fountain and to experience the grace of forgiveness offered to us by the Father.  Our parishes will make a renewed effort to offer opportunities for celebrating the Sacrament of Reconciliation individually and we, as a Church, will be seeking God’s forgiveness for the sins of the past too often carried out in the name of the Church.  More than that, we are encouraged to imitate the love and mercy of God by becoming a more forgiving people – leaving behind the grudges and grievances of the past and seeking reconciliation with those who may have hurt us. 

A Jubilee Year also challenges us to put our faith into practice – by engaging in spiritual reading, studying the Bible or aspects of Sacred Tradition at your parish or at one nearby and by acts of charity and corporal and spiritual works of mercy.  Our minds may expand in study and we may experience a closeness with the Lord in prayer and certainly in our reception of the Eucharist, but Jesus Himself invites us to encounter Him in the face of a brother or sister in need or our comfort, compassion or assistance.  We will be inviting your participation in both efforts at growth and evangelization and in acts of charity and works of mercy throughout the year.

Our observance of this year will begin on the Feast of the Holy Family – Sunday, December 29 – with a procession to St. Francis Xavier Cathedral.  Visit our website – www.diocesealex.org – or check out our Facebook or Instagram pages for the details of this and other Jubilee Year celebrations.  May we draw closer together as one church in this Jubilee Year – closer to our ever-faithful God and closer to our brothers and sisters in faith.  Embrace this year of hope!

Live Jesus in our hearts,

Most Reverend Robert W. Marshall, Jr.
Bishop of Alexandria