What are some ways local Catholics could have a personal encounter with Jesus during this Jubilee Year of Hope 2025?
The Paterson Diocese offers an array of faith-filled initiatives this Jubilee Year to help people deepen their love for Christ. These include diocesan-wide holy year events and liturgies, education, catechesis, and pilgrimages, which allow the faithful to receive an indulgence, a special holy year blessing.
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney previewed many of the diocese’s Jubilee offerings on a Dec. 20 episode of his podcast, Beyond the Beacon, before he opened the holy year in the diocese in the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist in Paterson on Dec. 29. Watch it here:
The podcast episode, part of a series in English and Spanish the diocese created about the holy year, serves as an overview of the Jubilee. Other videos in the series cover topics such as the Holy Door and pilgrimages.
Salesian Sister Theresa Lee, chancellor and delegate for religious; Brian Honsberger, Evangelization Office executive director, and mission and technology integration director; and Jai Agnish, communications director, podcast co-host, and editor of The Beacon, joined Bishop Sweeney for the podcast. Sister Lee and Honsberger have been working with seven committees to coordinate the diocese’s jubilee observances.
Sister Lee said she is excited about the encounters people — the faithful and fallen away — will be able to experience at Jubilee events.
“I am most excited about how lies will be touched and changed in an encounter with Jesus Christ, whether somebody is seeking it or not, but hunger is there. This will be an opportunity for people to experience that sense of coming home,” Sister Lee said.
There are 12 long-form videos about various aspects of the Jubilee Year and 11 shorter 1-minute episodes.
