Hope does not disappoint: Archdiocese of Melbourne announces local pilgrim places for Jubilee 2025

For locals wanting to participate in next year’s Jubilee and unable to travel to Rome, we have good news. In anticipation of the official opening of Jubilee 2025: Pilgrims of Hope, the Catholic Archdiocese of Melbourne has revealed the 13 churches and shrines within the Archdiocese that will be designated Pilgrim Places for the purposes of the 2025 Jubilee, with the majestic St Patrick’s Cathedral serving as the principal Pilgrim Place.

While there won’t be Holy Doors through which to walk—those are reserved for specific places in Rome and the Vatican—pilgrims will be eligible to receive Jubilee indulgences by visiting a designated Pilgrim Place within the Archdiocese.

This will be the primary way in which the 2025 Jubilee will be observed locally across the Archdiocese of Melbourne, and Catholics across the Archdiocese, as well as further afield, are encouraged to visit and pray at one or more of the local Pilgrim Places during the Jubilee year.

The Holy Father has called the universal Church to this special time of grace, a time to focus on reconciliation and forgiveness, prayer and reflection, sojourn and pilgrimage. A time to focus on hope.

Being the biggest diocese in the Oceania region, the Archdiocese of Melbourne has multiple Pilgrim Places across each of the regions—North, South East and West—making it as easy as possible for all in the Archdiocese to participate in next year’s Jubilee. Rural and regional areas and migrant communities are not forgotten, with Pilgrim Places in Mansfield and Trentham, as well as the Mornington Peninsula, and a number of migrant shrines among the Pilgrim Places.

Announcing the Pilgrim Places, Archbishop of Melbourne Peter A Comensoli noted that ‘The Holy Father has called the universal Church to this special time of grace, a time to focus on reconciliation and forgiveness, prayer and reflection, sojourn and pilgrimage. A time to focus on hope. I invite all in the Archdiocese to participate to the fullest in this special time and am delighted to be able to offer ways to do that locally within the Archdiocese of Melbourne.’

What is a Jubilee?

Jubilees are relatively rare occurrences, so for those of us who might not be familiar with what they are, a jubilee is a special year of grace and conversion, involving prayer, pilgrimage and sacramental repentance, held every 25 years or during other years as called for by the Pope. The most recent (ordinary) jubilee was the Great Jubilee of 2000. Key elements of a jubilee include walking through Holy Doors while on a pilgrimage and the granting of plenary indulgences.

Indulgences are a wonderful support on the great pilgrimage towards heaven. They orient hearts towards God and are characterised by a mysterious interior renewal.

Plenary indulgences

Indulgences are a way to reduce the time a person spends suffering for sins, even after they have been forgiven. A faithful Christian can earn an indulgence for themselves or for someone who has passed away, as long as they meet certain conditions.

Indulgences are a wonderful support on the great pilgrimage towards heaven. While indulgences do not absolve people of sin—that is for the sacrament of Reconciliation—they orient hearts towards God and are characterised by a mysterious interior renewal.

To receive a Jubilee plenary indulgence within the Archdiocese of Melbourne, individually or in a group, people can visit any Pilgrim Place, remain there for a suitable period of time, engage in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, then conclude their time of prayer with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith and the Hail Mary (or any other invocation to Mary the Mother of God).

By fulfilling these conditions while they are at a Pilgrim Place, the grace of the Jubilee Indulgence is granted.

Normally only one plenary indulgence can be received per day, but for the duration of the 2025 Jubilee Year, pilgrims will be able to ‘pay it forward’ and obtain a second, on condition that they have carried out an act of charity offered for the souls in purgatory and received Holy Communion a second time that day.

Holy Doors and pilgrimages

For those wanting the experience of walking through Holy Doors, the Archdiocese is also offering two pilgrimages to Rome next year:

• The first will coincide with the Jubilee of Families, Grandparents and the Elderly in May, with registrations closing on 7 February. Find out more, including how to register, here.
• The second will coincide with the Jubilee of Youth in August, with registrations closing on 11 April. More details, including a registration link, can be found here.

Locally, the 2025 Jubilee will open with the 11am Mass celebrated by Archbishop Comensoli at St Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday 29 December 2024 and culminate in the Australian Catholic Youth Festival, which will take place in Melbourne, with young pilgrims from across Australia visiting Melbourne for three days of faith, fun, food, friendship and formation in November and December 2025.