To open the 2025 Holy Year within his diocese, Bishop Donald J. Hying of Madison celebrated Mass at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Monona, part of Stella Maris Pastorate, on December 29.
The Jubilee Opening Mass was held for the entire diocese to “remember the hope that we have for eternity,” said Fr. Andrew Showers, who is a parochial vicar of Our Lady of Guadalupe Parish in Madison and the director of the diocesan Office of Worship.
That day, approximately 400 parishioners attended the Mass, and “My hope is that they had a profound experience that will compel them and our Lord to use them as instruments to draw others” to the Catholic Church, Father Showers continued.
Three major parts
Father Showers, as part of his diocesan role, was tasked with planning the Jubilee rites. He explained that this meant taking standardized guidelines, given from the United States Council of Catholic Bishops (USCCB), and adjusting them to the local diocese.
From that planning, Father Showers said that there were three standout parts, specific to an opening Mass of a Jubilee Year.
The first Jubilee rite observed, he said, was “a collectio,” where diocesan parishioners “gathered in a place that’s not the cathedral”.
In the Diocese of Madison, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church was chosen for its size, central location, and because it houses the Shrine of Our Lady of the Green Scapular.
Gathering in Marian Hall, which is located in the adjacent school building, Bishop Hying greeted each parishioner attending the Mass, to “draw them” and “enter into this Jubilee Year” together, Father Showers explained.
After Bishop Hying had welcomed the 400, the second Jubilee rite observed was reading parts of the papal Bull of Indiction, “Spes non Confundit,” or “Hope does not disappoint,” and from the Gospel of John, chapter 14, verses one through seven.
Spes non Confundit was read so that listeners might find it “impactful” and so that it would “help to conform one’s mind to what the pope is thinking and inviting us into,” Father Showers said.
Part of the papal bull that was read included Pope Francis’ prayer that “For everyone, may the Jubilee be a moment of genuine, personal encounter with the Lord Jesus, the ‘door’ (Jn 10:7) of our salvation, whom the Church is charged to proclaim always, everywhere, and to all as ‘our hope’ (1 Tim 1:1).”
The standout verse from the Gospel was Jesus’ proclamation that “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me. (Jn 14:6)”
After those readings, the third Jubilee rite observed was the procession, where Bishop Hying, concelebrating priests, and the congregation processed inside Immaculate Heart of Mary Church while the Litany of Saints was chanted.
In other dioceses, this procession would have started at the collectio site and traveled to the diocesan cathedral, but for the Diocese of Madison, given that work is still being done on the future Cathedral of St. Bernard of Clairvaux and that the high temperature for the day was hovering just above freezing, staying at Immaculate Heart of Mary Church was an easy decision.
“For us, the joke is that the folks putting together these rites maybe don’t always consider the dioceses of northern climates,” Father Showers commented.
But Father Showers also spoke about the importance of the procession that did take place, albeit shorter than recommended.
He said that the act of moving together is a reminder that the People of God are “processing towards eternity. . . towards the Sanctuary, the Holiest of Holies” and that the “whole body is being engaged in a kind of prayerful action”.
Veneration of the Cross
After leading the way to the front doors of Immaculate Heart of Mary Church, Bishop Hying and the faithful venerated the Processional Cross outside, and after veneration, the congregation entered the church’s sanctuary.
The Processional Cross, which is also the official Jubilee Cross of the diocese for the Holy Year, is noteworthy.
More than simply its designation as the Jubilee Cross, this Cross is interesting because it was formerly the Processional Cross of the Cathedral of St. Raphael in Madison.
Usually, the Cross is in use at St. Bernard of Clairvaux Church in Madison, but it was chosen as the official Jubilee Cross because of the ongoing work being done to elevate St. Bernard to a cathedral.
The hope is that the Cross will also be used as the Processional Cross at the new cathedral’s dedication, which is expected before the end of the 2025 Holy Year.
Until that time, Immaculate Heart of Mary Church will house the Jubilee Cross.
Because Immaculate Heart of Mary Church in Monona hosted the diocesan Opening Jubilee Mass, the church holds pride of place as one of six diocesan pilgrimage sites.
There, pilgrims may venerate the Jubilee Cross throughout the Holy Year.
For more information on the Jubilee Year of Hope in the Diocese of Madison, go to madisondiocese.org/jubilee.