During Jubilee of Hope 2025, local faithful are invited to visit any of five designated holy sites in the Paterson Diocese. Throughout the Jubilee Year, the diocesan sites will be available for pilgrimage by the faithful on the noted days and services of the week. People are especially encouraged to visit during Lent.
Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney designated the following five Jubilee holy sites in the diocese (along with their geographic locations in the Church of Paterson):
- The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson (east)
- St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church, Mount Hope/Wharton, Rockaway Township (center)
- St. James the Greater Church, Montague (north)
- The Shrine of St. Joseph, Stirling, Long Hill Township (south)
- St. Luke Church, Long Valley, Washington Township (west)
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“The faithful, pilgrims of hope, will be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence granted by the Holy Father if they undertake a pious pilgrimage…to any sacred Jubilee site,” to gain a plenary indulgence for themselves or a deceased person, Pope Francis states in his Bull of Indiction about the Jubilee Year, “Spes No Confundit” or “Hope does not disappoint.”
One-day events, local pilgrimages with Bishop Kevin J. Sweeney are also scheduled.
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The Cathedral of St. John the Baptist, Paterson
Individuals and groups from the Paterson Diocese and around New Jersey are already taking the opportunity to deepen their faith by visiting the Cathedral of St. John the Baptist during Jubilee Year. Recent visitors included students and staff of St. Patrick School in Chatham.
Dedicated in 1870, the Gothic Revival cathedral is the diocese’s Mother Church, located in the heart of Paterson in Passaic County.
Visitors to St. John’s are invited to pray before the Jubilee Cross.
Pilgrims are encouraged to take a card, “Six Signs of Hope,” with information in English and Spanish about becoming a Pilgrim of Hope and the cathedral’s efforts to promote hope in Christ. This includes monthly theological reflections by Msgr. Geno Sylva, St. John’s rector and diocesan vicar for special projects.
“We are doing everything we can to welcome pilgrims to the cathedral during the Jubilee. Many people have not been here before. It’s an opportunity to share this wonderful gem and Pope Francis’ approach to evangelization and how to live it as a Catholic.”
St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church, Mount Hope, Rockaway Township
“St. Bernard Church is perfect to be a diocesan holy site for the Jubilee of Hope,” said Father Edward Rama, St. Bernard’s administrator and diocesan vocations director.
St. Bernard’s embodies hope, given that it’s situated in the Mount Hope neighborhood of Rockaway Township in Morris County.
Visitors are invited to visit the stone grotto on the wooded property next to St. Bernard’s Church. Father John A. Tracy, a former pastor, built it in 1935 and established a novena in honor of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. The parish continues the devotion today on Mondays after the 8:30 a.m. Mass.
“The grotto was constructed during the Great Depression amid economic despair in the United States. Still, our people had great hope,” Father Rama said.
Father Rama encourages the Jubilee pilgrims to visit the “quaint” 150-seat small wooden country church, built in 1869.
St. Bernard’s worship space features a balcony with an organ, a wooden altar, religious statues, and many stained-glass windows.
St. James the Greater Church, Montague
The faithful are encouraged to take their time driving to St. James the Greater Church in Montague to enjoy part of their pilgrimage — the bucolic beauty of the northwest corner of Sussex County. Pilgrims will find a small country-style 125-seat cinder-block church completed in 1945. Two Blessed Mother statues stand outside on St. James’ grounds.
“The old-fashioned church is cozy and comfortable,” said Father Wayne Varga, pastor of St. James Parish and St. Thomas the Apostle Parish in Sandyston.
“We are happy to be named a diocesan Jubilee site. We invite guests to enjoy our church and the scenery. It’s beautiful for all seasons, and there are trees all around,” said Father Varga, noting that St. James is a few miles from the Pennsylvania and New York borders. “Here, people are friendly, and it’s a different — and simpler — pace of life.”
The Shrine of St. Joseph, Stirling, Long Hill Township
Life can be hectic. The Shrine of St. Joseph in the Stirling neighborhood of Long Hill Township has long offered visitors of all ages and backgrounds a place of beauty and sacred solitude as they pray about and contemplate questions about their future, purpose, and God.
During the Jubilee and beyond, visitors can take time away from their regular schedule for private or communal reflection and prayer, including Mass and the sacraments. The Missionary Servants of the Most Holy Trinity run St. Joseph’s, nestled in the Watchung Mountains.
The 44-acre wooded campus has many outdoor statues, shrines, and grottos. It also has a main chapel with floor-to-ceiling windows overlooking God’s creation outside. A new Pilgrim Chapel is dedicated to St. Joseph and features a nine-by-eight-foot Life of St. Joseph mosaic.
St. Joseph’s also has the Tower of Remembrance, composed of beams from the World Trade Center, which honors the victims of the 9/11 attacks, their families, and those who keep the country safe.
St. Luke Church, Long Valley, Washington Township
St. Luke Parish in the bucolic Long Valley area of Washington Township is ready to welcome pilgrims during the Jubilee Year.
St. Luke’s Jubilee banner is displayed in the church’s main worship space. The pastor, Father Michael Szwarc, has been educating parishioners about the holy year in the bulletins. He is also awaiting an order for special Jubilee vestments.
Opened in 1989, the 450-seat St. Luke Church has a main worship space with a sloping roof that resembles an early farm building. The space conveys an atmosphere of the sacred and of warmth and inclusion. It features a crucifix, Stations of the Cross, and large stained glass windows that enhance the more intimate Daily Mass chapel.
“St. Luke’s is in the countryside with horses and farms. People like it,” Father Szwarc said. “Visiting St. Luke’s will be like a pilgrimage to Rome. You can receive a special blessing and grow in faith this holy year.”
At St. Luke’s, pilgrims will also meet a community active in many ministries, such as special needs, bible study, a Rosary Altar Society, and a new young adult group.
