Bishop opens Jubilee Year on Dec. 29

Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,

On December 24, 2024, Christmas Eve, Pope Francis will officially open the Jubilee Year for the Church. The Jubilee will go from December 24, 2024 until January 6, 2026. Pope Francis has asked all the bishops of the world to open the Jubilee in each diocese on Sunday December 29 in their Cathedrals and to invite the faithful of the diocese to come to the Cathedral throughout the Jubilee Year for prayer and reflection. I will be doing this in our Cathedral at the 10:00 a.m. Mass and of course you are invited if you can attend. 

To celebrate a jubilee year is a long tradition in our Church. These years usually take place every 100, 50 and 25 years. These jubilee years, following biblical traditions, are celebrations of God’s grace, characterized by the forgiveness of sins and in particular by the indulgences obtained by those who observe the usual norms of the Jubilee Year for a full expression of the mercy of God. Often, in Jubilee Years, pilgrims go to Rome and to St. Peter’s Basilica and the other major basilicas to walk through the Holy Doors. Our diocese has organized such a pilgrimage from September 29 – October 10, 2025. More information about this pilgrimage is available in the Catholic Advance or by contacting the Office of Development at the Chancery. 

The theme of this Jubilee Year is PILGRIMS OF HOPE. Pope Francis in his letter calling for the Jubilee says this, “We must fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain a new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart and far-sighted vision. The forthcoming Jubilee can contribute greatly to restoring a climate of hope and trust as a prelude to the renewal and rebirth that we so urgently desire.”

Dear Friends, let us now prepare our hearts and spirits to enter into a Jubilee Year as a pilgrim of hope. I invite you to see yourself as a pilgrim in this life, making your way steadily to the goal of our lives, which is heaven. We must go with renewed faith, hope and love, allowing these virtues to take root in our lives and in the world and especially direct our faith, hope and love to the poor, the lost, the forgotten and the abandoned. As disciples of Jesus, let us enter into this Jubilee Year as a pilgrim of hope. God bless you all.

The Most Rev. Carl A. Kemme D.D.
Bishop of Wichita