In Toronto, Catholics welcomed Cardinal Francis Leo back home following his journey to Rome where he was elevated last month to the College of Cardinals.
His return was cemented by his presence at the Archdiocese of Toronto’s Solemn Opening Mass of the Jubilee Year, officially kicking off the Holy Year with an evening Mass Dec. 29 at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica.
“I think the Lord must be proud and happy that we are here to open this wonderful new Jubilee Year celebration together. This evening we embark together on a year-long journey of spiritual renewal, to replenish our souls with God’s sanctifying grace,” Leo told those gathered at the downtown cathedral.
Following the Gospel reading of the Feast of the Holy Family in Luke 2: 41-52, Leo spoke through his homily about Pope Francis’ intentions to have the Jubilee Year act as a grace-filled opportunity to encounter our Lord in a more deep, personal way.
“This is a moment of genuine and personal encounter with Lord Jesus who is the door to our salvation. That is what we do during a jubilee, we receive mercy from God and we give that mercy to others,” he said.
According to Leo, those opportunities are available to all Catholics and especially to those within the Archdiocese of Toronto. He spoke to the number of pilgrim churches throughout the Archdiocese tasked with bringing the faithful together over the next 12 months. These include Martyrs’ Shrine in Midland, St. Paul’s Basilica, St. Mary’s and St. Edward the Confessor for the central region, Our Lady of Sorrows and St. Mary’s (Brampton) in the west, St. Barnabas and St. Gregory the Great (Oshawa) in the east and St. Padre Pio and St. Mary’s (Barrie) in the north.
Additionally, the celebratory Mass marked the beginning of a multitude of different pilgrimages, initiatives and services that are set to take place over the course of next year for the Jubilee Year in Toronto. These include a pilgrimage led by Leo to Martyrs’ Shrine for its 100th anniversary in August, a Jubilee Day with Mary at St. Augustine’s Seminary on May 31 and Office of Catholic Youth and archdiocesan pilgrimages to Rome on July 23 and Nov. 10, respectively.
More than anything, Leo expressed his own hopes for 2025, calling on Catholics around the world to be attentive and receptive to the gifts available to us during the Jubilee Year.
“Hope is not the power of wishful and positive thinking, nor is it optimism or pessimism. Hope means to place your trust, to place your life and to place your future in God’s promises,” he said. “God has put aside so many personalized graces with our names on them this year, so we must open up the door of our hearts to receive what God wants to give us because He loves us.”
In Vancouver, Archbishop J. Michael Miller gathered on Dec. 29 with about a dozen altar servers, deacons and lay faithful outside Holy Rosary Cathedral before the Mass for a rite of blessing and prayer to mark the start of the Jubilee celebrations.
During his opening address, Miller proclaimed, “Brothers and sisters, the mystery of the incarnation of our Saviour Jesus Christ, fostered in the communion of love of the Holy Family of Nazareth, is for us the ground of deep joy and certain hope. In fellowship with the Universal Church, as we celebrate the love of the Father that reveals itself in the flesh of the Word made man and in the sign of the Cross, anchor of salvation, we solemnly open the Jubilee Year for the Church of Vancouver.”
The Archbishop described the year ahead with its theme of “Pilgrims of Hope” as a time for grace and renewal, saying, “This rite is for us the prelude to a rich experience of grace and mercy. We are ready always to respond to whoever asks the reason for the hope that is in us, especially in this time of war and disorder. May Christ, our peace and our hope, be our companion on the journey in this year of grace and consolation. May the Holy Spirit, who today begins this work both in us and with us, bring it to completion in the day of Christ Jesus… May the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus.”
He invited the faithful to “announce hope to the weary who lack the strength to carry on, to the lonely often oppressed by the bitterness of failure, and to all those who are broken-hearted. We are called to bring hope to those who are incarcerated, hope to the cold tents of the homeless, and hope to places desecrated by violence and war.”
He invited all in the Archdiocese, from the seriously committed to those who are questioning or have left their faith, to become “pilgrims of hope,” opening their hearts “to the joy that the Lord Himself wishes to bestow on them during this year of Jubilee.”
In Winnipeg, Archbishop Richard Gagnon drew upon Pope Francis’ teaching to highlight the connection between hope and kindness, calling them “two things much needed today.”
Noting how the word “kindness” comes from the same root word as kin reveals how families should treat each other, Gagnon said.
“We are family of Christ. We are the body of Christ. Our communities need to be kinder to one another. We need to be kinder people.”
He cited the Pope’s view of kindness as “not a diplomatic strategy nor a set of rules that ensures social harmony,” but rather “a form of love that opens hearts to acceptance and helps us all to become humble.”
He also noted how Pope Francis used the Holy Doors in Rome to symbolize “God’s heart, always open to grant mercy and forgiveness.”
In Saskatoon, Bishop Mark Hagemoen opened the Jubilee 2025 Year on Dec. 28 at Holy Spirit Church, proclaiming: “In fellowship with the universal Church, as we celebrate the love of the Father that reveals itself in the flesh of the Word made man and in the sign of the Cross, anchor of salvation, we solemnly open the Jubilee Year for the Church of the Diocese of Saskatoon.”
The bishop continued: “This rite is for us the prelude to a rich experience of grace and mercy; we are ready always to respond to whoever asks the reason for the hope that is in us, especially in this time of war and disorder. May Christ, our peace and our hope, be our companion on the journey in this year of grace and consolation. May the Holy Spirit, who today begins this work both in us and with us, bring it to completion in the day of Christ Jesus.”