A Message from Father Simon Peter for the Jubilee Year of Hope

Rooted in the Holy Scriptures, the Jubilee Year occurs every 25 years, and is a moment in the life of the Church where we are invited to experience God's mercy in a profound way, a time to be reconciled, restored, and renewed. The Jubilee Year of 2025, however, is uniquely focused on hope. It is not only a year to remember God’s goodness, but also to renew the hope that is rooted in Christ’s resurrection, which promises that life will triumph over death, love will overcome fear, and light will pierce the darkness.  During the Jubilee Year, we are called to open our hearts to the full reality of God’s promises.  Our world is burdened by despair, suffering, and uncertainty. Yet, in this moment, we are invited to lift our eyes to the horizon of God’s kingdom, where peace, justice, and joy reign. The Jubilee Year of Hope is an invitation to rediscover the abundant love that has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.  In this Jubilee Year of Hope, let us take the words of St. Paul to heart: “Hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). The same love that raised Jesus from the dead is at work within us, and it is this love that fills us with an unshakable hope for the future. Hope is not a passive sentiment; it is an active force that compels us to live differently. We are called to be witnesses of hope in a world that desperately needs it. The hope we celebrate in this Jubilee year should lead us to acts of mercy, kindness, and solidarity. In addition, I wish to make known that the following parishes have been designated as pilgrimage churches for the Jubilee Year of Hope. At these sacred sites, a special plenary indulgence can be obtained for oneself or applied to the souls in 

Purgatory under the usual conditions:

[1] Cathedral Church of Saint Francis de Sales (Houma) [2] Co-Cathedral Church of St. Joseph (Thibodaux)

[3] Parish Church of Sacred Heart (Morgan City) [4] Parish Church of Sacred Heart (Montegut)

[5] Parish Church of Sacred Heart (Cut Off)

These places have been selected because of their centrality and their historical importance to the Diocese, and as a way to honor our Holy Father’s most recent encyclical, ‘Dilexit Nos‘ (He Loved Us) on the Sacred Heart of Jesus. I encourage the faithful to individually, or in a group, visit these designated pilgrimage churches during this Ordinary Jubilee Year of Hope as to benefit from the “intense…love of God” which he desires to give to us. 

Requirements to receive Indulgences

The purpose of the pilgrimage site is to provide an opportunity for the faithful to pray, especially for an increase in the virtue of hope and for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff/Holy Father and to provide an opportunity for the faithful to obtain a plenary jubilee indulgence.

You should make a good sacramental confession within twenty days prior to or following the day the indulgence is sought as a means of purification.  Then receive the Holy Communion as a means of refreshment.  These do not have to be done in the pilgrimage church. 

The following is to be done at the pilgrimage church.  You will take part in Eucharistic adoration in meditation for a suitable period of time (at least 15 minutes).  Adoration may be done before the Blessed Sacrament reserved in the tabernacle, not necessarily exposed.  Then conclude the time of adoration and meditation with the praying of the Our Father and an appropriate invocation to the Blessed Mother (Hail Mary, Hail Holy Queen, Litany to the Blessed Virgin Mary, any other Marian devotion).