NEW ULM - Five days after Pope Francis opened the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome, a symbolic act marking the beginning of the Jubilee Year 2025 that is dedicated to the service of prisoners, poor people, and victims of war, New Ulm’s bishop Chad Zielinski welcomed the Holy Year locally with a Mass at the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity in New Ulm on Sunday, Dec. 29, 2024.

Before entering the cathedral doors, with swords raised, the local Knights lined the stairway to the entrance of the church where Bishop Chad Zielinski held high the crucifix, marking the local opening of Jubilee Year 2025.

Prior to the liturgy, approximately 100 faithful gathered in the nearby Cathedral School gymnasium for a brief ceremony before the 10 a.m. Mass introducing the Jubilee Year. The ceremony’s lector read from the pope’s Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025, affirming that 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.”

“O Father, you are the hope that does not disappoint and the beginning and end of all things,” Bishop Zielinski proclaimed, asking God to bless the start of our Jubilee Year journey.

Following the ceremony, those gathered proceeded in song to the cathedral. The procession was led by Bishop Zielinski, who was guided by a large crucifix held by seminarian Brent Sundve. Before entering the cathedral doors, with swords raised, the local Knights lined the stairway to the entrance of the church where the bishop held high the crucifix, marking the local opening of Jubilee Year 2025.

A jubilee year, also known as a “Holy Year,” is a special worldwide celebration that usually occurs every 25 years within the Catholic Church. Pope Boniface VIII called the first jubilee in 1300, with Holy Years offered at various intervals.

The Jubilee of Hope invites Catholics to grow in their faith and draw closer to Christ through the reception of the sacraments and participation in Holy Year activities such as visiting designated churches and shrines. The Diocese of New Ulm has two pilgrimage sites, the Cathedral of the Holy Trinity and the Schoenstatt Jubilee Family Shrine in Sleepy Eye.

During the Jubilee Year, Catholics can obtain special plenary indulgences and remission from punishment for sins that have already been forgiven. (Visit the Diocese of New Ulm website dnu.org or call (507) 233-5361 for details.)

The Diocese of New Ulm has also set up a special webpage offering resources on the Jubilee year. It includes information on the upcoming diocesan pilgrimage and pilgrimage site locations and a unique 27-week prayer guide Behold, Your Mother, provided in print and audio. This prayer guide, developed by the Diocese of New Ulm Office of Evangelization and the Office of Worship, is designed to help participants grow in their relationship with Mary - the patroness of the Diocese of New Ulm.)

The Jubilee Year will conclude with the closing of the Holy Door at St. Peter's Basilica on Jan. 6, 2026, on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord. Dioceses worldwide will conclude their local celebrations of the Holy Year on Dec. 28, 2025.