Preparing for the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025
29 November 2024
Dear Father, Parish Staff and Volunteers,
May Jesus and Mary be in your souls.
As we prepare for the Advent season, which I know is an extremely busy time for parishes, be assured of my gratitude for all that you will do over the next month to serve the people of God in our beautiful archdiocese.
As you know we are moving ever closer to the start of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, which we pray will be a moment of abundant blessings and an opportunity for renewed evangelization, prayer and service, drawing on the theme, “Pilgrims of Hope”. A committee, under the direction of Fr. Tim Hanley, has been working expeditiously to prepare for this special moment in the life of our Catholic community.
I would like to draw your attention to a number of important items to help us prepare and welcome this special Holy Year for the Catholic community in our archdiocese.
Jubilee Bull of Indiction – to prepare spiritually as we enter this special year, I would ask all clergy to read and reflect on the Bull of Indiction, issued by the Holy Father on 9 May 2024. It is a beautiful reflection on the theme of “hope” in the context of our faith. Not only will it help us prepare thoughtfully for the Jubilee Year, it is an excellent catechesis for our ministry as shepherds to the faithful. This document can be accessed here.
Solemn Opening of the Jubilee Year – Eucharistic Celebration at St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica – Sunday, December 29, 2024 – 5:00 p.m. All are welcome to join in this special Mass to formally launch the Jubilee year in the Archdiocese of Toronto. Please refer to the attached letter of invitation that can be shared with the faithful to promote participation. Priests are encouraged to attend as you
are able – those wishing to concelebrate are asked to RSVP utilizing the link here.
Visible reminders of the Jubilee Year – each parish will receive two banners, an opportunity to visually focus our prayerful participation in the Jubilee Year at every sacramental celebration over the next year. I would kindly ask that these banners be prominently displayed in an appropriate space on the altar in time for your Christmas celebrations, remaining through the end of 2025. We will also provide parishes with prayer cards with the Jubilee Prayer that can be offered on a regular basis. Please introduce the Jubilee Prayer at all Masses on December 29, either as a concluding prayer for the general intercessions or as a Prayer After Communion.
Resources for Implementation – to help parishes bring the Jubilee to life more concretely, there are a number of excellent resources available. Please refer to the enclosed attachment which provides numerous ideas and suggestions relating to adult faith formation resources. The Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops has also produced some very helpful materials that can be utilized. You can find many of these resources through links on our own archdiocesan Jubilee website that can be accessed by visiting: www.archtoronto.org/jubilee. These include resources for children, families, adult faith resources and much more. We will update the site throughout the year as more information is available. The Vatican Jubilee website can also be accessed by visiting the following link: https://www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html. Please discuss with your parish council and pastoral team how you can incorporate the Jubilee Year into your pastoral planning in 2025.
Signs of Hope – Outreach Ministries – to help embrace the theme of “Pilgrims of Hope” that is so central to the Holy Year, I would encourage you to discern how your parish might emphasize a ministry that reaches out those in need as a sign of hope in 2025. This may be the formation of a refugee sponsorship committee (or encouraging new sponsorship if a committee already exists), an enhanced emphasis on membership for the St. Vincent de Paul, introducing a new ministry focused on pastoral care for the sick or shut ins. These are just a few tangible examples of how we can all embrace a spirit
of hope as part of our Jubilee journey. Once again, discussing this with your parish council/pastoral team, at zone meetings or with community partners (schools, outreach organizations) is highly recommended.
Pilgrimage Churches – as in the past, we have identified holy places of worship in each of the major regions of the archdiocese to serve as pilgrimage destinations during the Jubilee Year. These locations are as follows:
| Archdiocesan | St. Michael’s Cathedral Basilica, Toronto |
| Shrines | Martyrs’ Shrine, Midland |
| Central Region | St. Paul’s Basilica, Toronto |
| Central Region | St. Mary’s Parish, Toronto |
| Central Region | St. Edward the Confessor Parish, North York |
| Western Region | Our Lady of Sorrows Parish, Etobicok |
| Western Region | St. Mary’s Parish, Brampton |
| Eastern Region | St. Barnabas Parish, Scarborough |
| Eastern Region | St. Gregory the Great Parish, Oshawa |
| Northern Region | St. Padre Pio Parish, Kleinburg |
| Northern Region | St. Mary’s Parish, Barrie |
Further information will be forthcoming regarding pilgrimage opportunities in 2025 as well as information relating to plenary indulgences as part of pilgrimages during the Jubilee Year.
Regional Masses & Celebrations – as in the past, we have invited a Jubilee church to host a regional celebration to focus our attention on the Jubilee Year as a faith community. This occasion will also provide an opportunity to come together on a regional level to celebrate my elevation to the College of Cardinals, an acknowledgement of the tremendous people of God in the Archdiocese of Toronto. These celebrations will take place as follows (all at 7:00 p.m.) with receptions to follow Mass unless noted:
- St. Michael’s Cathedral (Mass to celebrate elevation to the College of Cardinals – by invitation) – Wednesday, January 15, 2025 – 7:00 p.m. (Mass only, no reception following Mass)
- Western Region – Wednesday, January 29, 2025 – St. Mary’s Parish, Brampton
- Northern Region – Tuesday, February 4, 2025 – St. Padre Pio Parish, Kleinburg
- Eastern Region – Wednesday, February 19, 2025 – St. Barnabas Parish, Scarborough
- Central Region – Tuesday, February 25, 2025 – St. Edward the Confessor Parish, North York
Archdiocesan Pilgrimage to Rome – November 2025 – as part of our Jubilee Celebrations, we are planning an archdiocesan pilgrimage to Rome in November 2025 that will accommodate 100 pilgrims. We pray this will include diverse representation from throughout the archdiocese with both lay participants and clergy coming together for a special journey of prayer, evangelization and fellowship. More details will be forthcoming regarding the pilgrimage soon.
I recognize there is an ample amount of material to digest in the midst of a very busy upcoming Advent season. Thankfully, we have a full year to implement many of these initiatives. Most importantly, let us take full advantage of the opportunity presented with this special Holy Year to evangelize, pray and celebrate with the faithful of the archdiocese.
Once again, be assured of my gratitude for all that you do to strengthen our faith community. May the joy of Advent be with you and each member of your parish family during this most holy
and beautiful time of year.
Sincerely Yours in Jesus and Mary,
Most Reverend Francis Leo
Metropolitan Archbishop of Toronto