September 2, 2025 // Bishop
‘We Really Need Hope Right Now’
Bishop Celebrates Jubilee Year Mass at St. Pius X Parish
Trumpets blared as Bishop Rhoades entered St. Pius X Church in Granger on Thursday, August 21, in celebration of the ongoing Jubilee Year of Hope.
Bishop Rhoades, accompanied by Monsignor Michael Heintz, pastor of St. Pius X, and several other priests, celebrated the special Jubilee Mass with nearly 1,000 people in attendance. The Mass at St. Pius was one of nine Jubilee Masses being held at specially designated Jubilee parishes throughout the diocese during the holy year.
“The Jubilee is only offered every 25 to 50 years, so it’s special to celebrate,” Monsignor Heintz explained. “To be able to gather with Catholics from all different parishes is absolutely wonderful.”
“We had a combined choir with people from different parishes, which was just beautiful. These people will sometimes sing at Christmas together, and the Jubilee is just another opportunity to bring them together to worship God,” he said.
Photos by Clare Hildebrandt
Bishop Rhoades preaches during the Jubilee Mass at St. Pius X Church in Granger on Thursday, August 21.
During the Jubilee Year, Bishop Rhoades invites Catholics from throughout the diocese to go out on pilgrimages to the designated Jubilee parishes – St. Pius X in Granger, St. Matthew Cathedral in South Bend, the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Fort Wayne, the Basilica of the Sacred Heart on the campus of the University of Notre Dame, St. Michael in Plymouth, St. Anthony of Padua in Angola, SS. Peter and Paul in Huntington, St. Elizabeth Ann Seton in Fort Wayne, and Our Lady of Guadalupe in Warsaw.
An estimated crowd of more than 1,000 people filled the pews at St. Pius X Church in Granger for the Jubilee Mass.
“The whole idea of pilgrimage is often foreign to people,” Monsignor Heintz said. “People today can just get to places so quickly and easily. In the Middle Ages and earlier centuries, pilgrimage took a significant exertion of time and energy.”
“There’s multiple parishes around the diocese that have been designated as Jubilee parishes, where people can just go and pray,” Monsignor Heintz continued. “Most have Jubilee Masses going on as well. These events help us realize we are all one in this diocese. … We are all worshipping God together,” he said.
Veronica Vos, a cantor at the Jubilee Mass, told Today’s Catholic: “It’s always great to have Bishop coming to visit. … We [Catholics] really need hope right now. I really believe a lot of us are feeling such a lack of it. There are a lot of vulnerable people being targeted in the world, and it’s really easy to lose sight of the virtue. It was good to be reminded of it,” Vos concluded.
Bishop Rhoades, right, and Deacon Harry Verhiley stand at the altar during the Jubilee Mass at St. Pius X Church in Granger on Thursday, August 21.
Upcoming Jubilee Masses
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.
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