February 25, 2025 // Diocese

‘Drink Deeply of His Mercy and Love’

Clare Hildebrandt

Reporter

This Lent, Pay a Visit to Any of the nine Jubilee Churches in the Diocese

“Visits to the various Jubilee sites and parishes remind us that our experience of the faith is embodied,” said Monsignor Michael Heintz, pastor of St. Pius X Catholic Church in Granger. “We can encounter the Lord in particular places.”

For the Jubilee Year 2025, nine parishes have been officially named Jubilee churches throughout the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend to serve as these “places of encounter” with the Lord. Visiting the various churches gives the opportunity for Jubilee indulgences, deeper prayer, and the outpouring of graces discussed by Pope Francis at the beginning of the Holy Year.

In his letter to the president of the Pontifical Council for the Promotion of New Evangelization marking the Jubilee 2025, the Holy Father wrote: “The Jubilee has always been an event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church. Ever since 1300, when Boniface VIII instituted the first Holy Year … God’s holy and faithful people have experienced this celebration as a special gift of grace, characterized by the forgiveness of sins and in particular by the indulgence, which is a full expression of the mercy of God.”

By going on pilgrimage to these parishes chosen by Bishop Rhoades, Catholics open themselves to the “special gifts of grace” that God desires to give during this year of celebration.

Father Jake Schneider, associate pastor of St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Fort Wayne – one of the nine Jubilee churches in the diocese – encourages all to meditate upon the significance of the Holy Doors being opened for the people.

“The greatest visible sign of this Jubilee Year are the Holy Doors in Rome, and those very doors are open right now,” he said. “These open doors signify the great graces coming down through Christ, who is our door to the Father,” he continued. 

But these great physical signs are not just for those on pilgrimage in Rome. The doors at the Jubilee parishes throughout the diocese are open for the faithful to visit. 

“When we open the doors wide for pilgrims in our Jubilee churches, not only are more people coming to them this year, but also immensely more graces are being poured out on the world,” Father Schneider explained.

“Think of it as a stream of grace from heaven coming down. Because of the Jubilee, the stream is greater, wider, than before.”

He added: “We want to be as connected to this stream as possible, drink deeply of His mercy and love, so that is why we should attend these Jubilee events and visit the parishes.”

For those hesitant to make a pilgrimage, Father Schneider said, “This year is one of communion – these pilgrimages are not meant to be traveled alone. We’re to walk through the doors of Christ together. We’re with you in your pilgrimages. “

Father Tony Steinacker, pastor of SS. Peter and Paul Catholic Church in Huntington, echoed Father Schneider, saying, “In this Jubilee year, we are all given the wonderful opportunity to pray in various churches we may never have seen before.”

“The Jubilee Year of Hope is ever so important and timely as our world continues to be filled with anxiety and conflict as well as much confusion,” he told Today’s Catholic. “It is the theological virtue of hope that draws each of us out of the darkness of our past to joy and peace that the light of Christ has to offer us.”

Relying on the hope in Christ, the faithful can enter these parishes and pray in confidence for their friends, family, and those who have helped them in their faith journey.

“It is a wonderful tradition that upon entering a church where you have never been, you could pray for your parents, the priest or deacon who baptized you … and pray for the bishop who confirmed you,” said Father Steinacker, whose church has been selected as one of the Jubilee churches. “In keeping this tradition, we are praying for those who handed on to us the faith.”

Another great opportunity in visiting these Jubilee parishes is encountering beautiful religious art.   

“At SS. Peter and Paul Parish, we recently came upon the original murals which hung in the sanctuary from 1870 to 1960. We thought that they had been painted over during a renovation, but they were actually taken down privately by a parishioner and stored in his garage,” Father Steinacker said. “They were discovered by the next homeowner, and he presented the murals to the local historical museum, who then gave them back to the church.”

SS. Peter and Paul restored the murals to their original home, as they now hang throughout the church.

“We preserved the murals … and recently hung them in the main entrance for everyone to appreciate.”

Father Steinacker hopes that Catholics will go on pilgrimage to his parish to meditate upon the holy artwork and ask for an outpouring of God’s grace this Jubilee.

“Each of us should make the time to visit as many of the Jubilee parishes as possible to thank God for this Year of Hope and the opportunity to pray in a special way for those who sacrificed so much to build these places of worship in our diocese.”

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Jubilee Churches and Mass Times in the Diocese of Fort Wayne-South Bend

St. Matthew Cathedral, South Bend – Tuesday, December 31, 2024

St. Anthony of Padua, Angola – Wednesday, August 13

Our Lady of Guadalupe, Warsaw – Saturday, August 16: Spanish Mass

St. Pius X, Granger – Thursday, August 21

St. Michael, Plymouth – Wednesday, September 3

Basilica of Sacred Heart, Notre Dame – Wednesday, September 24

St. Elizabeth Ann Seton, Fort Wayne – Wednesday, October 8

SS. Peter and Paul, Huntington – Wednesday, October 29

Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Fort Wayne – Sunday, December 28: Closing Mass of the Jubilee Year

For information on the Jubilee Year pilgrimages, Masses, and indulgences, visit
diocesefwsb.org/jubilee25.

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