As we reflect on being pilgrims of hope, Pope Francis encourages us to live with a “great symphony of prayer.” One way we can do this is to mark each day with prayerful reminders – physical signs that inspire us to prioritize God and glorify him by our lives.
There is a wonderful tradition of marking the beginning of a Jubilee Year by opening holy doors to specific churches. The first holy door was opened by Pope Martin V in 1423 at the Basilica of Saint John Lateran. For the start of Jubilee 2025, Pope Francis opened the holy door of Saint Peter’s Basilica.
Since each Christian family is a domestic Church, designate a doorway in your home as a holy door. Through this doorway, your family can pass as pilgrims of hope during Jubilee 2025. Let this doorway be a reminder to celebrate each day with a symphony of prayer.
DIRECTIONS: Designate a doorway or threshold at home as your family’s holy door. Invite the family to decorate this area with images and words to celebrate Jubilee 2025.
DID YOU KNOW???...
On October 28, 2024, Archbishop Rino Fisichella of the Dicastery for Evangelization unveiled Luce as the official mascot of the 2025 Jubilee Year.
He said that Luce was inspired by the Catholic Church’s desire “to live even within the pop culture so beloved by our youth”. Luce, which means “light” in Italian, is a pilgrim clad in a yellow raincoat and mud-stained boots, carrying a walking stick. She is a symbol of hope and love.
Designed by Simone Legno, Luce represents a Catholic pilgrim. She is accompanied on her journey by a pet dog named Santino and three friends named Fe, Xin, and Sky.
Luce has blue hair. Her yellow raincoat is colored in reference to the flag of the Vatican City as well as a symbol for “journeying through life’s storms”.
The walking stick is a pilgrim’s staff, which represents “the pilgrimage toward eternity”, and her mud-stained boots show us she is ready for “a long and difficult journey”. The shells in her bright eyes are a traditional symbol of Catholic pilgrimage. Luce also wears a multi-colored World Mission rosary around her neck.
Luce reminds us that the Jubilee is a special time to come together. With her warm and cheerful smile, Luce helps spread a message of peace, happiness, and hope.
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In the busyness of everyday life, Sundays can easily blend into the routine. 52 Sundays invites families to reclaim the Lord’s Day with thoughtfully crafted resources that help parents strengthen their domestic church, foster discipleship, and create a faith-filled home.
As part of the Jubilee Year celebration, we’re also offering free downloadable saint coloring pages to spark meaningful conversations about the lives of these holy men and women.
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Part of a new and unique pilgrimage experience is the Detroit Saint Walk at the Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament.The faithful can come up close to venerate and pray before the relics of 12 of Christ’s apostles, installed beneath large, wooden statues. The relics include ten of Jesus’ original apostles, plus St. Paul and St. Matthias, the apostle who replaced Judas.
The fourteen statues – each carved from a single tree trunk in St. Ulrich Groeden, in modern-day Italy, in 1927 and later rescued from St. Benedict Church in Highland Park when it closed – include two angels along with the apostles.
“(The Pilgrimage) is a devotional experience,” Archbishop Vigneron said. “It is an intense experience to make one’s way through the church, to see the statues, pray at the relics, but it is also a reminder of who we are: sons and daughters, brothers and sisters of the apostles. On the pilgrimage, we do only what we are supposed to do every day of our lives as members of the apostolic Church – we again receive the Gospel truth about our savior and how to become disciples of Christ, and we take up our missions to join in what the apostles first did to share the good news with others.”
(excerpt from Detroit Catholic, February 9, 2024)
As part of the 2025 Jubilee, we are planning a Pilgrimage to our beautiful Cathedral of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Detroit to spend a prayerful 2 hours. Booking the date and knowing the number in our group will guarantee us that the church is available for our time there, and that only our group (and the saints and angels) will be present. Our reservation will include a docent led tour of the Cathedral, in which the art, history, and religious elements of the building will be the focus. After a break, the docent will start us on our “Journey with the Saints Pilgrimage” with instruction and inspiration of entering into a prayerful mindset before the journey. Our day will end with a stop for lunch on the way home.
Before we can reserve a date and bus, it is necessary to know the number of parishioners who are interested in this Pilgrimage. With sufficient interest, we will reserve a bus for our group.
WE HOPE YOU JOIN US!!!
Please contact Kim Donahue, as soon as possible, to express interest in the Pilgrimage and the bus ride.
[email protected]
248-446-8700 x.115
Or sign up for the Pilgrimage in the Church Office.
Saints inspire us to trust in God’s mercy, even in the toughest times, and to always hold on to the hope of his love. Saints demonstrate, through their lives, how deeply God’s mercy extends, showcasing forgiveness, compassion, and love even in the face of challenging situations.
Saints are seen as living examples of how to live a life fully devoted to God, which often includes acts of great mercy towards others, demonstrating the possibility of experiencing and sharing God’s mercy. Many saints show us ways to use our experiences, talents and interest to make the world a better place and glorify God.
During the Jubilee Year of Hope, make a decision to learn about different Saints and their amazing stories each month. Let’s begin with a well-known February Saint. St. Valentine was a priest in Rome. He died for his faith in the one true God on February 14. We honor the memory of St. Valentine by showing love for others on Valentine’s Day with cards, candies, flowers and special gifts.
What are some of the different ways that you can show love to others throughout the year?
Saints show us that God calls everyone to be a saint – that means YOU!
How will you be a saint today?