August 19, 2025 // Bishop

A Celebration of Hope

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

Hundreds Gather in Angola, Warsaw for Jubilee Masses

The ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope, instituted by Pope Francis, marks a time of great celebration within the Church, encouraging all to seek the mercy of God and participate in His abundant grace.

Hundreds of the faithful did just that recently by participating in Jubilee Masses that were held at two specially designated parishes for the Jubilee Year – at St. Anthony of Padua Church in Angola on Wednesday, August 13, and at Our Lady of Guadalupe Church in Warsaw on Saturday, August 16. Those who attended received a special apostolic blessing from Bishop Rhoades and the opportunity to acquire a plenary indulgence for the Jubilee Year.

With packed pews, the congregation at St. Anthony of Padua joined Bishop Rhoades in prayer for a renewal of hope.

“Today, the world is hungering for hope,” Bishop Rhoades said in his homily. “Society is desperate for the Good News of the Gospel and this Jubilee Year. We are called to renewal. We are called to accept the great mercy of our God.”

At the altar, Bishop Rhoades was joined by several priests from local parishes, including Father Osman Ramos, pastor of St. Anthony.

After the Jubilee Mass, Father Ramos told Today’s Catholic: “It was just a beautiful spiritual experience. I really experienced the presence of Jesus Christ bringing us a lot of forgiveness and peace in our hearts,” he said.

Father Ramos said he sincerely hopes the Mass, along with Bishop Rhoades’ words of encouragement, will inspire Catholics to visit and pray at the various Jubilee parishes throughout the diocese.

“It is a refreshment for everyone to remember that Jesus Christ is our hope. Our church is open every single day for people to come and pray at St. Anthony’s,” Father Ramos said.

Jim Shiffler, a parishioner at St. Anthony of Padua, described the Mass as an opportunity for Catholics to realize their need “for more community” and to forgo “distractions in life.”

“I think there is a need in the U.S. Church for more community as there are a lot of challenges that we face as Christians and Catholics,” Shiffler told Today’s Catholic. “What Bishop Rhoades talked about tonight really rang true in putting our hope in the one and only thing that gives us hope, which is Our Lord.”

Shiffler added: “This Jubilee Year, we should return to our faith in a real and firm way. There are so many distractions in life, and we need to pause those distractions. … I hope this Mass helps Catholics who are discerning what their faith truly is. It really draws them back to the Church, and they get to experience it firsthand.”

To accommodate a large number of Jubilee pilgrims, Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Warsaw hosted its Jubilee Mass outdoors on the parish grounds. The Mass was celebrated in Spanish, and hundreds of the faithful gathered in the hot August sun to celebrate the Eucharist and receive an apostolic blessing from Bishop Rhoades.

Father Wilson Corzo, pastor of Our Lady of Guadalupe, told Today’s Catholic: “Our Lady of Guadalupe is a wonderful place to come and worship, and it is so wonderful to have Bishop come and celebrate with us. I am so happy to be the pastor here.”

He continued: “The indulgence is great, and so is the blessing received at the end of Mass. We should look to rejoice in the forgiving of our sins. … It is most wonderful.”

Lupita Martinez Alonzo, a young adult in the community, attended the Jubilee celebration. She told Today’s Catholic, “I felt Mary’s motherly presence at this Mass.”

“My name comes from Guadalupe, and it just felt so special, especially with the parish being named Our Lady of Guadalupe.”

Alonzo said one of the highlights of the Mass was receiving the special apostolic blessing from Bishop Rhoades. She added that seeing him at the parish “just gives me so much hope in my faith life. … That he would participate and pray with the rest of us is just amazing. I think this is what the Jubilee Year is really meant to do for us. … It gives hope in this way.”

Clare Hildebrandt is a staff writer for Today’s Catholic.

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Upcoming Jubilee Masses

St. Pius X, Granger: Thursday, August 21, at 6:30 p.m.

St. Michael, Plymouth: Wednesday, September 3, at 6:30 p.m.

Basilica of the Sacred Heart, University of Notre Dame: Wednesday, September 24, at 5:15 p.m.

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Fort Wayne: Wednesday, October 8, at 6:30 p.m.

SS. Peter and Paul, Huntington: Wednesday, October 29, at 6:30 p.m.

Closing Mass of the Jubilee Year – Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne: Sunday, December 28, at 11:30 a.m.

For more information about the Jubilee Year, including how to obtain the Jubilee indulgence, visit
diocesefwsb.org/jubilee.