Official Website of the
Catholic Diocese of Little Rock
Jubilee Year 2025 Opening Mass is Dec. 29
Published: December 18, 2024
Click on the red button above to find events in the Diocese of Little Rock to celebrate the jubilee year, or make a pilgrimage to a jubilee church in Arkansas. Visit the official website for the jubilee year to find information for pilgrims and pilgrimage sites in Rome, prayers, videos and more. The U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops also offers resources including a calendar of events and page for young adults. For more information, contact Father Juan Guido, diocesan director of divine worship, at frjuan@ctklr.org.
The Diocese of Little Rock will kick off its celebration of Jubilee Year 2025 with a special procession and Mass on Sunday. Dec. 29 in Little Rock. It begins with a half-mile procession from St. Edward Church to the Cathedral of St. Andrew at 2:30 p.m. (It will not include the Blessed Sacrament.)
Bishop Anthony B. Taylor will then celebrate a bilingual Mass at 3:15 p.m. at the Cathedral. During the Mass, he will give an apostolic blessing to all in attendance. Refreshments will be served after Mass in McDonald Hall. All are invited to attend.
An apostolic blessing, also known as a papal blessing, includes a plenary indulgence and may be given by bishops "when there is sufficient reason," explained Bishop Taylor in June 2023. He gave an apostolic blessing for the first time during Masses to celebrate the Eucharistic Revival Days in Springdale and Little Rock.
"When there is sufficient reason and an appropriately solemn event, bishops are allowed to impart the apostolic blessing up to three times a year," he added. "This is a really special deal and it is called an apostolic blessing because as your bishop I have been specially empowered to impart this blessing, it is as if the pope himself were here with us today."
On Nov. 27, 2024, Bishop Taylor announced that in addition to St. Edward and the Cathedral, Immaculate Conception Church in Fort Smith, St. Joseph Church in Pine Bluff and St. Mary Church in Helena are also official jubilee churches for the Diocese of Little Rock. This would allow those unable to travel to Rome to make pilgrimages any one of these churches to obtain the jubilee indulgence during the jubilee year.
The Catholic Church worldwide will celebrate the jubilee year from Dec. 24, 2024 to Jan. 6, 2026. The theme will be "Pilgrims of Hope." Pope Francis begins the jubilee with a special rite to open the holy door of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome. More than 35 million pilgrims are expected to visit the holy sites during the holy year. For more information in the Diocese of Little Rock, contact Father Juan Guido, diocesan director of divine worship, at frjuan@ctklr.org.
