With descriptions such as “wonderful,” “beautiful” and “exciting,” worshippers formally welcomed Bishop John Dolan’s seven-year pastoral plan on evangelization and the opening of the Catholic Church’s 2025 Jubilee year in the Diocese of Phoenix on Saturday night at Ss. Simon and Jude Cathedral in Phoenix.
Bishop Dolan presided at the first of six opening Masses throughout the diocese, launching his blueprint and ushering in the Jubilee year of hope declared by Pope Francis earlier this year.
“Our world is dying of despair,” said Fr. Andrew McNair, the Diocese of Phoenix’s director of Black Catholic Ministry and pastor of St. Josephine Bakhita Mission Parish in Phoenix, and one of several clergy at Saturday’s Mass.
“There are so many challenges; so many problems, and the Holy Father said, let’s focus on hope in Christ Jesus. Hope does not disappoint,” said Fr. McNair.
“It’s wonderful; a beautiful movement in the Church. It’ll bring unity in our hearts,” said Annie Buehnerkemper of Glendale, Ariz., and a Ss. Simon and Jude parishioner, who was there with her husband, Chris, and their five children.
Jubilee years have been a part of the Catholic Church for centuries.
During modern times, the Church celebrates them generally every 25-50 years.
Begun by Pope Boniface in 1300, the holy year is a special period of forgiveness and reconciliation.
St. John Paul II ushered in the Great Jubilee in 2000, marking the Church’s third millennium. Pope Francis declared the extraordinary Jubilee of Mercy in 2015-2016.
Pope Francis issued the 2025 Jubilee year proclamation May 9, Ascension Thursday. During a ceremony in St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, he consigned the Bull of Indiction, “Spes non confundit” – Latin for “Hope does not disappoint” – to the archpriests of the Papal Basilicas and representatives of the world’s bishops.
“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,” Pope Francis wrote.
A Call To All Believers
“In the course of the year, every effort should be made to enable the People of God to participate fully in its proclamation of hope in God’s grace and in the signs that attest to their efficacy.”
The pope directed each bishop worldwide to establish jubilee sites, where the faithful could make a pilgrimage during the year. In addition to the Cathedral of Ss. Simon and Jude, Bishop Dolan named five churches throughout the diocese, offering as much access as possible for those within its 44,000-square miles.
Jubilee year opening Masses also were slated Dec. 29 at St. Anthony Mission in Sacaton, Ariz.; Dec. 31 at St. Mary’s Basilica in downtown Phoenix; 10 a.m. Jan. 1 at St. Mary in Kingman, Ariz.; 5:30 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 4, at the Chapel of the Holy Cross in Sedona, Ariz., and 9 a.m. Sunday, Jan. 5, at Sacred Heart in Prescott, Ariz.
Bishop Dolan is traveling to each church to personally celebrate the Mass.
The bishop began Saturday’s inaugural rite at the cathedral with prayers inside St. Bridgett Hall, followed by a procession to a special Peace Pole erected as part of the Jubilee year.
Each of the six designated jubilee sites will have one. The pole is a traditional part of the Peace Pole Project, founded in 1955 in Japan, that has spread globally.
In his pastoral plan, the bishop encourages non jubilee sites, such as schools, organizations and cemeteries, to erect a Peace Pole “in solidarity with those who throughout the world endure the tragedies of war.”
Moments before the cathedral pole’s unveiling, Diocese Coordinator of Worship Alyssa Yingling read a portion of Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction.
“In addition to finding hope in God’s grace, we are also called to discover hope in the times the LORD gives us,” she read. “We need to recognize the immense goodness present in our world, lest we be tempted to think ourselves overwhelmed by evil and violence.
“The first sign of hope should be the desire for peace in our world.”
Though Bishop Dolan called world peace a “tall order” – given struggles across the globe since the beginning of time, including the escalation of hostilities in recent years, among them those in the Holy Land – he quickly pivoted to Francis’ papal theme with a reminder that prayer is expected of believers.
He also challenged the faithful to examine their resolve.
“We need…to ask ourselves, are we peacemakers? As the old line goes, ‘Let peace begin with me.’
“May this Peace Pole serve as a physical reminder of the hope we all share for peace in our world, our communities and in our hearts as we journey forward in this Jubilee year of hope and beyond,” the bishop said.
‘Open Wide The Doors To Christ’
In his homily, Bishop Dolan recalled the Jubilee year in 2000, and St. John Paul II’s message.
Amid anxiety that widespread computer Y2K failures might shut down the world’s economies and unleash weapons of war, John Paul II urged the faithful to lay aside their fears and “open wide the doors to Christ.”
“Twenty-five years later, we are called to open our hearts and open our souls and open our minds,” said Bishop Dolan, “to the hope that only can be found in the living Christ.
“He came at the darkest hour of our life…when we were sinful. Despite our foibles, our troubles in life, we can place our hope in a Lord who does not abandon us. He accompanies us,” the bishop said.
Yet, knowing who Christ is and what He did for us is not enough.
“I may know He is a king, priest and prophet, born of the line of David and divine in nature; both God and man – the Son of God,” the bishop said.
“But we have to ask ourselves: What does that mean for us?”
Those baptized know they have a share in Christ’s divine nature, becoming “sons and daughters of God,” he continued. But without faith in that relationship, one will struggle to communicate God’s truth.
“I cannot evangelize if I don’t believe the message myself.”
The evening’s themes resonated with believers.
Buehnerkemper turns to Christ through prayer and self-reflection for guidance in evangelizing, including understanding how to use her spiritual gifts for His purposes.
Listening for God’s voice in a specific situation dictates her approach.
“It can be words; just being present with someone; service. I cannot say it’s one avenue. Sometimes, it’s just offering a prayer for someone,” she said.
When fellow Ss. Simon and Jude parishioner, Lori Sellers, hears the word “hope,” it triggers a “wonderful sense of a brighter future for others,” she said.
As a Society of St. Vincent de Paul volunteer, Sellers sees service to the needy as a form of evangelization.
Though she has opportunities to share her faith verbally, there are methods beyond talking.
“I’m always trying to see the Lord in them, and I hope someone sees the Lord in me,” she said.
‘This Is Home’
Ss. Simon and Jude parishioner Diana Smith, as the wife of a deacon, has a bit of a built-in platform.
“I get to remind them, for example, that I’m going to be late due to Mass on a Holy day of obligation.
“I think it makes it easier for me to talk about Jesus and having a relationship with Him.”
Smith called the year ahead “very exciting.”
“There’s been so much turmoil in our world and our country, that this celebration is like a new start,” she said.
Fr. McNair called the Jubilee year and pastoral plan for evangelization “an excellent opportunity” on several fronts, including the 500th anniversary in 2031 of Our Lady of Guadalupe, the patroness of the diocese, appearing to Juan Diego on Mexico’s Tepeyac Hill.
The apparition was one of a series that led to construction of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in present-day Mexico City and the conversion to Catholicism over the next seven years of more than nine million locals.
“Our Lady appeared as a native girl to the people of Mexico, and really evangelized a whole continent,” Fr. McNair explained. “That gives us hope that through the intercession of Our Lady, we will be able to evangelize everyone, but especially our Hispanic brothers and sisters.”
Reaching Latinos, based on a program outlined by the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops, is one of the points emphasized by Bishop Dolan’s blueprint. But it also is a model for welcoming to the faith people of all cultural backgrounds.
“We’re on a seven-year journey,” said Fr. McNair. “I hope that it will be a period of…really making people who come here feel they’re home; that for those we evangelize, they will feel that wherever there is a Catholic church, this is home.”
Further information on the 2025 Jubilee year and an online “one-stop shop” on Bishop Dolan’s seven-year pastoral plan for evangelization can be found at dphx.org/tilma
