SAN DIEGO — “In fellowship with the Universal Church, we open the Jubilee Year for the Church of the San Diego. Today is a prelude to a rich experience of grace, mercy and consolation … The reason for our hope, especially in this time of war and disorder, is Jesus Christ.”
With these words, Auxiliary Bishop Ramón Bejarano began on Dec. 29 the observance of the Jubilee Year 2025 in the Catholic Diocese of San Diego. He led at a morning prayer in English and Spanish at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, where the faithful packed the pews and jammed the back of the historic building.
Afterward, all set off in a procession, at times stretching three blocks long. They walked to nearby St. Joseph Cathedral, where Bishop Bejarano proclaimed a special blessing for the Jubilee Year and celebrated Mass. The faithful filled the 900-seat church, which the diocese has designated as the site for local Jubilee pilgrimages.
A Jubilee Year is an important event in the Catholic Church, a time of grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation. The Church observes an “ordinary” Jubilee Year every 25 years. The 2025 theme calls on Catholics to be “Pilgrims of Hope,” highlighting the power of hope in their lives.
Pope Francis launched the observance of the Jubilee Year on Dec. 24 by opening a Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. Dioceses across the world began their observance of the special year on Dec. 29.
In San Diego that day, the faithful gathered at Our Lady of the Rosary Church in Little Italy. They had filled all the pews by 9:15 a.m., when Bishop Bejarano began the special service, opening the Jubilee Year 2025 locally.
Chancellor María “Marioly” Galván read a portion of the official Church document, known as a “Papal Bull of Indiction,” announcing the Jubilee Year 2025.
“Hope is the central message of the coming Jubilee that, in accordance with an ancient tradition, the Pope proclaims every twenty-five years,” she read. “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere and to all as ‘our hope’” (1 Tim 1:1).
“Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. Even so, uncertainty about the future may at times give rise to conflicting feelings,” she continued.“For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope. God’s word helps us find reasons for that hope.”
Afterward, the faithful moved outside to begin the procession, which was led by seminarians, followed by deacons, priests, and Bishop Bejarano. Hundreds walked under cloudy skies about seven blocks, some carrying babies and small children, to St. Joseph Cathedral. They sang “The Litany of the Saints,” and afterwards Christmas carols, including “Noel, Noel” and “Joy to the World.”
At The Cathedral, the bishop stood at the top of a long set of steps as the faithful fanned out around him all the way to the street. He proclaimed a special Jubilee prayer and then opened one of The Cathedral’s doors and proceeded inside.
He proclaimed another prayer around the baptismal font near the entrance, and then sprinkled holy water on the Mass-goers.
In his homily, Bishop Bejarano said that Pope Francis “invites us to sing a song of hope” to the world.
“A song is something beautiful that expresses our most intimate feelings. A song can make us joyful, can make us sad, can bring us together,” he said.
He said that to sing a song of hope, “you first need to be good listeners. We need to understand our brothers and sisters with our hearts,” to be empathetic and understanding.
Reflecting on the Feast of Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph, he urged the faithful to consider in their song of hope, the three dimensions of the family: the nuclear family, the extended family and the universal family, and to act accordingly to promote peace and unity.
“The universal family should be a concern for all of us,” he said, whether it’s in the parish, in the community or in the world. “All of us are part of a greater picture.
“No matter how different we might be, the language that we speak, all of us are children of the same God, who created us in his image and likeness, with perfect and unconditional love.
“Everyone who lives in the world is a member of this universal family. And we should treat each other as brothers and sisters.”
More information about the Jubilee Year at the diocese is found here.
