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Letters From The Archbishop

Jubilee 2025 Letter to Pastors

February 28, 2025

Dear Reverend Fathers,

As we embrace the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, I invite and encourage you to engage the faithful in celebrating this extraordinary year that Pope Francis has gifted to the Church. The Archdiocese of Santa Fe opened the Jubilee Year at the Midnight Mass on Christmas Eve at the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Francis of Assisi in Santa Fe. Between now and the Jubilee's conclusion in January of 2026, I look forward to participating with you in the many jubilee activities that are being planned throughout the year. Jubilee 2025 is a journey, a pilgrimage of faith, that brings together the faithful from across the world. This transformative pilgrimage, set to take place throughout 2025, invites participants to deepen their faith, unite in prayer, and experience the profound spiritual significance of pilgrimage.

As part of the Jubilee celebration, the archdiocese will have a dedicated website where parishes and pilgrims can find essential information, details on pilgrim sites, prayers and reflections, and other resources. Some of the resources include information about guidance and requirements for pilgrims; prayer cards and links to other resources to enhance your parish's and pilgrim's jubilee year. The website is archdiosf.org/2025jubilee. It is designed to serve as a resource hub for those wishing to take part in this spiritualjourney. Parishes and pilgrims are encouraged to visit regularly for updates and information on how they can take part in and support this spiritual journey.

The 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope includes a series of specially chosen sites throughout the archdiocese that hold significant religious and cultural importance. I am pleased to announce the pilgrimage sites designated for the 2025 Jubilee of Hope in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. These sacred locations will serve as spiritual havens for all pilgrims seeking renewal and grace. Each site has been thoughtfully chosen to reflect our rich heritage and the vibrant faith of our community. I invite you to join us in this journey of reflection, prayer, and unity. Together, let us embrace the spirit of hope in this blessed year.

Jubilee 2025 - Pilgrimage of Hope pilgrimage sites are listed below. Their Jubilee Mass times will be held on the first Sunday of every month.

Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi, Santa Fe - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, 9 a.m. (Santa Fe Deanery)
Shrine of the Little Flower - St. Therese of the Infant Jesus, Albuquerque - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, 10 a.m. (ABQ A)
Shrine of St. Bernadette, Albuquerque - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, 9:30 a.m. (ABQ B)
Augustine and Shrine to St. Kateri Tekakwitha, Isleta Pueblo - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, 10 a.m. (ABQ C)
San Felipe de Neri, Albuquerque - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, 11 a.m.(ABQ C)
Gertrude the Great, Mora - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, 11 a.m. (NE)
Santuario de Chimayo - Holy Family, Chimayo - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, Noon in the Shrine (NW)
Rose of Lima, Santa Rosa - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, 9 a.m. (SE)
San Miguel, Socorro - Jubilee Mass: first Sunday, 10 a.m. (SW)

On the website, the above-mentioned parishes can find some resources to assist them with receiving pilgrims: 1) parish check list for receiving pilgrims; 2) a link for the special Mass for the Holy Year that can be printed and used for the Jubilee Masses; 3) resources that can be printed at the parish to give to pilgrims when they visit. The pilgrim sites will also receive 300 stickers that they can give the visiting pilgrims (the website will include links to purchase additional stickers if needed).

To answer some of the frequent questions:

Where are the Holy Doors in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe? There are not any Holy Doors in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. The Holy Door for the Jubilee Year is at St. Peter's in Rome. The doors of the Cathedral in Santa Fe were used to open the Jubilee Year here in the archdiocese.

What if the Mass intentions at a Jubilee Parish are full through most of the year? Pilgrimage parishes are encouraged to include pilgrims in their Mass intentions for the Jubilee Mass on the first Sunday of the month. If the intentions for that Mass are already taken, then the pilgrims can be included in the Prayer of the Faithful.

What is an indulgence and how does one gain an indulgence? The Vatican's Decree on the Granting of the Indulgence states, "During the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, by will of the Supreme Pontiff, this 'Court of Mercy', which is responsible for all that concerns the granting and use of indulgences, wishing to encourage the souls of the faithful and nourish the pious desire to obtain the Indulgence seen as a gift of grace specific to each Holy Year, establishes the following indications, so that the faithful may take advantage of the 'norms for obtaining and rendering spiritually fruitful the practice of the Jubilee indulgence' (Spes non confundit, 23). During the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, alt other Indulgences previously granted remain in force. All the faithful, who are truly repentant and free from any affection for sin (cf. Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, IV ed., norm. 20, § 1), who are moved by a spirit of charity and who, during the Holy Year, purified through the sacrament of penance and refreshed by Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, will be able to obtain from the treasury of the Church a plenary indulgence, with remission and forgiveness of all their sins, which can be applied in suffrage to the souls in Purgatory in the following ways":

Pilgrimages - The faithful, pilgrims of hope, will be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence granted by the Holy Father if they undertake a pious pilgrimage by visiting the Cathedral Basilica of St. Francis of Assisi or other pilgrimage sites in the Archdiocese of Santa Fe;
Pious visits to sacred places - Likewise, the faithful can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if, individually or in a group, they devoutly visit any Jubilee site and there, for a suitable period oftime, engage in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to Mary, the Mother of God, so that in this Holy Year everyone "will come to know the closeness of Mary, the most affectionate of mothers, who never abandons her children" (Spes non confundit, 24);
Works of mercy and penance - In addition, the faithful will be able to obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if, with a devout spirit, they participate in popular missions, spiritual exercises, or formation activities on the documents of the Second Vatican Council and the Catechism of the Catholic Church, held in a church or other suitable place, according to the mind of the Holy Father.

What needs to be considered regarding insurance requirements and guidance for parish groups and minors? Contact Catholic Mutual for requirements and specific questions regarding your pilgrim groups and minors.

Thank you for your prayers, ministry, and support for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe. This Jubilee Year of Hope is foundational to this time of rebuilding here in our local church. As Pope Francis invites us to pray, "...May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of Heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen." May we be people of Hope!

Fraternally yours in the Lord of Hope,

+John C. Wister Most Reverend John C. Wester

Archbishop of Santa Fe

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Dear Reverend Fathers,

I write to you announcing the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope. Attached you will find my letter that includes the Pilgrimage sites throughout the Archdiocese of Santa Fe and answers to questions that we have been receiving in my office. We have created a dedicated website for the Jubilee Year, ir is: archdiosf.org/2025jubilee. This website is where parishes and pilgrims can find essential information including the links to the references below. In my letter I mention several references, for ease of reference, I have added the links below.

General resources:

U nited States Conference of Catholic Bishops' 2025 Jubilee - Pilgrims of Hope

Vatican Jubilee 2025

Jubilee 2025 General Calendar

Decree for Granting Indulgence from the Vatican

Jubilee Year Lesson Plan, Activities, & Worksheet

A Brief History of Pilgrimage/Una historia breve sobre las peregrinaciones

The Jubilee Prayer bookmark English/Español

The Meaning of the Catholic Anchor Symbol (video)

Resources for Jubilee Sites

Parish Checklist

Mass for the Holy Year - courtesy USCCB

A Brief History of Pilgrimage/Una historia breve sobre las peregrinaciones

The Jubilee Prayer bookmark English/Español

Catholic Mutual Group - for the latest requirements and guidance for pilgrimages, contact Dan Jaramillo or Jennifer Castillo 505.831.8122.

As I state in my letter, “This Jubilee Year of Hope is foundational to this time of rebuilding here in our local church. As Pope Francis invites us to pray, ‘…May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, a yearning for the treasures of Heaven. May that same grace spread the joy and peace of our Redeemer throughout the earth. To you our God, eternally blessed, be glory and praise for ever. Amen.’ May we be people of Hope!”

Thank you for your prayers, ministry, and support for the Archdiocese of Santa Fe.

Fraternally yours in the Lord of Hope,