SCRANTON – The Diocese of Scranton joined other dioceses worldwide in celebrating the opening of the 2025 Holy Year on Dec. 29, 2024.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, was the principal celebrant and homilist for a special Pontifical Mass to mark the Jubilee Year, which is themed “Pilgrims of Hope.”

Bishop Bambera began Mass at the back of the Cathedral, praying that God bless all who participate on the Holy Year pilgrim journey.

The Most Rev. Joseph C. Bambera, Bishop of Scranton, celebrated a special Mass on Dec. 29, 2024, to open the 2025 Holy Year at the Cathedral of Saint Peter in Scranton. The Mass began at the back of the Cathedral and featured a Gospel reading, as well as the blessing and sprinkling of Holy Water. (Photos/Mike Melisky)

“May we enter into this year of grace filled with hope because of the love, mercy, and grace that God gives each of us,” Bishop Bambera said.

The prayer was followed by a Gospel reading from John 14, in which Jesus explained to His disciples His relationship to God the Father, and then a reading from the papal bull announcing the Jubilee Year.

A Jubilee – or Holy Year – is a special year in the life of the church currently celebrated every 25 years. The most recent ordinary Jubilee was in 2000, with Pope Francis calling for an Extraordinary Jubilee Year of Mercy in 2015-2016.

Jubilee years have been held on regular intervals in the Catholic Church since 1300, but they trace their roots to the Jewish tradition of marking a Jubilee Year every 50 years.

During his homily, Bishop Bambera said that every person is invited to celebrate this Jubilee Year and experience Jesus’ healing touch and come to a renewed spirit of hope.

“This great Jubilee Year reminds us that for all that confronts us in life, it is our ability to hope that gives us the strength to persevere in the midst of trials,” he said. “Hope founded on faith and nurtured by charity, more than anything else, enables us to press forward in life.”

Since the opening Mass for the Jubilee Year was celebrated on the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, which is celebrated on the Sunday after Christmas Day, Bishop Bambera also reminded the faithful that they can find hope by looking at – and learning from – the Holy Family.

“Like families of every time and place, Mary and Joseph experienced hardship and pain – from Jesus’ unexpected conception – to the burden of life lived in an impoverished land – to being forced to flee to Egypt to protect their newborn – to losing Jesus amid the crowds during their Passover visit,” Bishop Bambera explained. “They faced their fears, disappointments and uncertainty with a deep sense of trust in God and a selfless, sacrificial love that bound them together as a family and provided them with hope.”

Unlike the practice in the Year of Mercy, diocesan cathedrals around the world are not designating their own holy doors – but cathedrals like the one in Scranton will serve as places of pilgrimage for those who cannot travel to Rome.