More than 1,700 “Pilgrims of Hope” participate in local Jubilee pilgrimage and Mass
By Catholic San Francisco
The joy and devotion of more than 1,700 Catholic faithful who participated in the Mission Deanery Jubilee pilgrimage and Mass was inspiring. The pilgrims gathered early at St. Peter Catholic Church in San Francisco on Saturday, April 12, where they processed with the Blessed Sacrament to Mission Dolores Basilica for Mass with Archbishop Salvatore J. Cordileone.
The local pilgrimage is part of the larger celebration of the Jubilee in the Universal Church. Pope Francis has designated the 2025 Jubilee Year as a time to renew ourselves as “Pilgrims of Hope.” Mission Dolores Basilica is one of five local Jubilee pilgrimage sites in the Archdiocese of San Francisco.
The event capped off a week of deep spiritual preparation. On Wednesday evening (April 9), the Deanery offered a Penance Service at St. Peter and St. Philip churches with confessions available beginning at 7:00 pm. Lines for confession stretched late into the night, with priests hearing confessions until 2:00 a.m., as hundreds of faithful sought God’s mercy in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.
The pilgrimage and Mass were organized by the 11 parishes of the Mission Deanery: Mission Dolores, St. John the Evangelist, St. James, St. Kevin, St. Paul, St. Philip, St. Teresa of Avila, St. Peter, St. Anthony of Padua, and St. Charles.
In his homily, Archbishop Cordileone spoke on the significance of pilgrimage in the Jubilee Year—as an image of our life in this world and favors the rediscovery of silence and striving for something better and something that is essential.
“Hope springs from love, love that is founded on the love of Christ,” said Archbishop Cordileone. The love He shows us by the blood and water from His glorious pierced heart on the Cross. It is this that is essential. Let us then always keep our eyes on Christ, especially during Holy Week.”
The Jubilee Year 2025, proclaimed by Pope Francis, officially began last December. As part of the Jubilee celebration, Archbishop Cordileone has designated five churches in the Archdiocese as official pilgrimage sites where the faithful may obtain a Jubilee Indulgence: the Cathedral of St. Mary of the Assumption, Mission Dolores Basilica, the National Shrine of St. Francis of Assisi, Mission San Rafael Arcángel, and the chapel at St. Patrick’s Seminary & University.
Catholics who make a pilgrimage to one of these sites and fulfill the usual conditions — Confession, Holy Communion, prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions, and freedom from attachment to sin — may receive a plenary indulgence, a profound gift of grace offered during this Holy Year.
To learn more about the Jubilee Year and the Archdiocese’s local celebration, visit www.sfarch.org/jubilee-year-of-hope.
Photos: Father James Liebner and Mary Powers
