2025 is the Jubilee Holy Year, the 2,025th anniversary of the Incarnation of our Lord, an “event of great spiritual, ecclesial, and social significance in the life of the Church.” The concept of “Jubilee” has its origins in the Book of Leviticus (chapter 25) as a special year of reconciliation, pilgrimage, and coming home. Pope Francis has designated the 2025 Holy Year as a time to renew ourselves as “Pilgrims of Hope.”
Archbishop Hartmayer celebrated Mass on December 29, 2024, to officially begin the Jubilee Holy Year. In his homily address Archbishop Hartmayer stated, “The goal of a Jubilee Year is to inspire, and encourage holiness of life, and therefore to strengthen the churches witness to God’s loving mercy in and for the world.”
The Archbishop has designated numerous pilgrimage sites in the archdiocese. These Pilgrimage sites do not have a Holy Door, nonetheless they been designated as a place where the people of God can pilgrim to reflect and obtain plenary indulgence satisfying the ordinary requirements of the Church.
In the Archdiocese of Atlanta, Archbishop Hartmayer has designated these churches to be pilgrimage sites:
- Mary Our Queen Catholic Church in Peachtree Corners, Main Pilgrimage Site
- Church of the Purification of the Blessed Virgin Mary in Sharon
- Saint Matthew Catholic Church in Tyrone
- Our Lady of the Mountains in Jasper
- Saint Paul the Apostle in Cleveland
- Saint Brendan the Navigator in Cumming
These pilgrimage sites opened on the Feast of the Presentation of the Lord Sunday February 2, 2025, and will end on the Solemnity of the Epiphany of the Lord on Tuesday January 6, 2026. Even though there are not “Holy Doors” at these sites there will be “Pilgrim Doors”, so all pilgrims are invited to enter through them.
Visit the Archdiocese of Atlanta website at: archatl.com/jubilee-2025/ which offers Catholics resources and ideas for celebrating the 2025 Jubilee locally, nationally, or by making a special pilgrimage to Rome. The site is regularly updated with the latest news, so be sure to check back regularly.
