Br. Paul Bednarczyk, C.S.C., Superior General, and other members of the Holy Cross Generalate in Rome joined thousands of pilgrims from around the world at St. Peter's Basilica for the opening of the 2025 Jubilee on 24 December. With the celebration of the rite of Opening of the Holy Door, Pope Francis officially inaugurated the jubilee year.
Two Holy Cross priests, Fr. Jadel Joseph, C.S.C., and Fr. Luc-Frank Jean-Pierre, C.S.C., both of whom are from Haiti and living in the Generalate as students, were providentially chosen to walk through the Holy Door following Pope Francis. The Holy Father then presided at Christmas Eve Mass in the basilica.
"We were all 'pilgrims of hope' as we welcomed the birth of our Savior and the opening of the Holy Doors at Christmas Eve Mass with the Holy Father," said Br. Bednarczyk. "Given the joy of the congregation in the Basilica and reflecting on the state of our world, I was struck by what a gift this special year is for the entire world. My fervent prayer is that this Jubilee will be a time of renewed hope for all people in Christ’s promise that the Kingdom of God is at hand."
The theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year, "Pilgrims of Hope", has strong strong resonance with the spirituality of the Congregation of Holy Cross. The Congregation's founder, Blessed Basile Moreau, chose for his religious family the motto Ave Cruz, Spes Unica--Hail the Cross, our only hope. With his unwavering trust in Divine Providence, even in times of intense personal and communal tries, Fr. Moreau modeled and passed on to Holy Cross a life lived and given in hope.
As the current Constitutions of the Congregation of Holy Cross state, "As disciples of Jesus we stand side by side with all people. Like them we are burdened by the same struggles and beset by the same weaknesses; like them we are made new by the same Lord’s love; like them we hope for a world where justice and love prevail" (2:12).
They continue later: "We must be men with hope to bring. There is no failure the Lord’s love cannot reverse, no humiliation He cannot exchange for blessing, no anger He cannot dissolve, no routine He cannot transfigure. All is swallowed up in victory. He has nothing but gifts to offer. It remains only for us to find how even the cross can be borne as a gift" (8:118).
Bringing hope to others was one of the main messages of Pope Francis' homily during the Mass to inagurate the Jubilee Year: "This is our task: to bring hope into the different situations of life. For Christian hope is not a cinematic 'happy ending' which we passively await, but rather, a promise, the Lord’s promise, to be welcomed here and now in our world of suffering and sighs. It is a summons not to tarry, to be kept back by our old habits, or to wallow in mediocrity or laziness. ... Hope calls us to become pilgrims in search of truth, dreamers who never tire, women and men open to being challenged by God’s dream, which is of a new world where peace and justice reign."
Fr. Vijai Amirtharaj, C.S.C., Fifth General Assistant, picked up on that theme of bringing hope in his video message on behalf of the General Administration for the jubilee: "The jubilee year invites us to be 'pilgrims of hope'. When I think of the word 'pilgrim', another word that comes to my mind is ‘journey’. To be a pilgrim is to be on a journey, not an aimless journey, but a journey to bring hope and meaning to people’s lives.
"For example, if we have community member or a family member who is difficult to deal with, can we show them a little more kindness; if there is a young person in our school or in our parish, who feels hopeless about his or her future, can we offer words of encouragement; if we have felt a stirring in our hearts to volunteer in a soup kitchen or nursing home or give of our time in some other way, can we take that step forward to give of ourselves in hope?" he continued.
It is with that spirit of making hope incarnate in the world today that the Congregation of Holy Cross enters into the 2025 Jubilee Year walking with the rest of the Universal Church.