As part of 2025 Jubilee Year, a special holy year of grace, hope, and pilgrimage that happens at least once every 25 years, Pope Francis called upon Catholics to enter into a journey of conversion as “Pilgrims of Hope,” cultivating hope in their heart, and bringing hope to others.
While the Jubilee Year may be nearing a close, Bishop Frank J. Dewane said there is still time to respond and become a “Pilgrim of Hope.”
“A major component of the Jubilee is prayer,” Bishop Dewane said Nov. 22, 2025, the Solemnity of Our Lord Jesus Christ, King of the Universe, during a Jubilee Mass at St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers. “In this Jubilee, we must lift up our hearts to the Lord and let that prayer pierce our own hearts and arrive with adequate reflection, for we are a people of hope.”
While a Jubilee Year implies needing to take a pilgrimage, or a physical journey, Bishop Dewane said we must also use this time to make a spiritual journey.
To be people of hope, Bishop Dewane said, we must go beyond thinking of doing good for ourselves, and that we must act and give hope to others, giving something of ouself so that the other can see goodness and hope in the world.
Bishop Dewane designated five locations as Jubilee pilgrimage sites within the Diocese. These Pilgrimage Sites are Epiphany Cathedral, St. John XXIII Parish in Fort Myers, St. John the Evangelist Parish in Naples, St. Paul Parish in Arcadia, and Our Lady of Perpetual Help Retreat Center in Venice.
In addition to celebrating the Jubilee Year with a Mass at St. John XXIII, Bishop Dewane also celebrated Jubilee Masses in late November at two additional pilgrimage sites, Nov. 24 at St. John the Evangelist Parish in Naples, and Nov. 30, the First Sunday of Advent, at St. Paul Parish in Arcadia. A Mass was celebrated at Epiphany Cathedral in Venice on Oct. 26.
The 2025 Jubilee Year began on Dec. 28, 2024, and concludes on Dec. 28, 2025, throughout the world, except in Rome, where the Jubilee is extended to Jan. 6, 2026, the Feast of the Epiphany. The Diocese of Venice, in addition to designated Jubilee sites, also hosted several Jubilee events throughout the year, such as a youth and young adult Adoration Nights. Rome also hosted a series of Jubilee Year events to celebrate various aspects of the Catholic Church.
By designating the retreat center and four Parishes located in each of the geographical regions (Deaneries) of the Diocese, Bishop Dewane encouraged the faithful to take advantage of the grace of the Jubilee Year and made it possible for all to be part of what is a historic moment in the Church. For more information on the 2025 Jubilee Year or the Pilgrimage Sites, please visit https://dioceseofvenice.org/jubilee-2025-pilgrims-of-hope/.
