The Jubilee will begin with the opening of the Holy Door at Saint Peter’s Basilica by Pope Francis on
Christmas Eve, December 24, 2024, and will continue through the celebration of the Epiphany in Rome on Tuesday, January 6, 2026.
Bishop Burbidge will celebrate the opening of the Holy Year on Sunday, January 5, 2025, at the Cathedral of Saint Thomas More at 11:00 a.m. All are invited to join Bishop Burbidge for this special Mass, which will begin in Burke Hall with the collection, followed by the “pilgrimage to the Cathedral” and the “entrance into the Cathedral” with the Holy Year Cross.
A plenary indulgence may be obtained during the upcoming Holy Year by pilgrimage, piously visiting a sacred place, or performing a work of mercy and penance. The indulgence is subject to the usual conditions: sacramental
confession, reception of Holy Communion, prayer for the intentions of our Holy Father, and total detachment from all sin, including venial sin.
Additional parish locations designated by Bishop Burbidge as “Jubilee Sites” to gain indulgence throughout the Holy Year are:
- The Basilica of Saint Mary, Alexandria
- Corpus Christi, Aldie
- Our Lady of Hope, Potomac Falls
- Saint John Bosco, Woodstock
- Saint John the Evangelist, Warrenton
- Saint Patrick, Fredericksburg
- Saint Paul Mission, Hague
Our parish in Warrenton has been designated as a “Jubilee Site.” An indulgence may be received by those who make a pilgrimage to any sacred Jubilee site and participate in a Mass, a Liturgy of the Word, one of the major hours from the Liturgy of the Hours (Office of Readings, Morning Prayer, or Evening Prayer); devotional prayers such as the Way of the Cross, the Rosary, or the Akathist hymn; or a penance service that concludes with sacramental confession.
The indulgence may also be obtained by piously visiting a Jubilee site and participating in Eucharistic adoration and meditation for a suitable period of time, concluding with an Our Father, a Profession of Faith, and invocations to Mary.
“Then he took a cup, and offering thanks he gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you; for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.’” — Matthew 26:27-29
Oremus pro invicem,
Fr. Charles Smith
