Fr. Killian's Letter on this Jubilee Holy Year | Our Lady of Hope Catholic Church

Fr. Killian’s Letter on this Jubilee Holy Year

January 31, 2025

Dear Parishioners of Our Lady of Hope:

Already one month in our double jubilee year has passed. I take this opportunity to greet all of you and provide some information regarding the Holy Year now underway in the Catholic Church.

Pope Francis proclaimed this Holy Year’s theme as “Pilgrims of Hope,”  saying, “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ of our salvation.” I encourage everyone to read the document in which the Holy Father announced the Holy Year which can be found on the Vatican Website at https://www.vatican.va/content/francesco/en/bulls/documents/20240509_spes-non-confundit_bolla-giubileo2025.html.

A key aspect of any Holy Year is going on a pilgrimage, most especially to Rome. I am very happy that a large group of parishioners will join Father Smith this Spring on a pilgrimage to Italy. For those of us who will not have the opportunity of traveling to the Eternal City, our Bishop has designated eight churches in our diocese, including our own, where it is possible for the faithful to obtain the grace of a plenary indulgence. An indulgence is the remission of temporal punishment due to sin for those sins confessed in the Sacrament of Penance. A plenary indulgence means that all punishment is remitted when one observes the requirements specified in the decree established by the responsible Vatican office known as the Apostolic Penitentiary.

Information regarding the ways of gaining the Holy Year indulgence as well as visiting the eight churches (which the Diocese is calling the Holy Year Tour) can be found on the Arlington Diocese website at https://www.arlingtondiocese.org/holy-year-2025.

So that we may enter into the spirit of pilgrimage, we are looking at the possibility of a group visit to our Cathedral. I will let you know when and if the arrangements are finalized.

In the meantime, may we focus our attention on being bearers of hope which, in Pope Francis’ words, “is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross. Christian hope does not deceive or disappoint because it is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love.”  Let us carry this message to others as Pilgrims of Hope.

Sincerely yours in Christ,

Father Killian


Posted on January 31, 2025