Be a Hope Ambassador during the Jubilee Year of Hope
In whatever situation you find yourself, you can always find hope and share that hope with others. You can do that in a special way in 2025, the Jubilee Year of Hope, by signing up to be a Hope Ambassador.
In whatever situation you find yourself, you can always find hope and share that hope with others. You can do that in a special way in 2025, the Jubilee Year of Hope, by signing up to be a Hope Ambassador.
The Diocese of Saint Petersburg is inviting all Catholics to have a role in promoting and participating in the Jubilee Year and all the related activities, pilgrimages, and events.
Hope Ambassadors will receive information via email or text about the special activities planned for the Jubilee Year and be asked to share that information with friends and family. For example, we are asking Hope Ambassadors to:
- Share hope with loved ones and family.
- Pray for the success of Jubilee Year initiatives.
To serve as a Hope Ambassador, sign up at dosp.flocknote.com/HopeAmbassadors. You will be prompted to add your name, parish name, and email address. Adding a cell phone number is optional. You can also text Hope2025 to 84576 to sign up.
Unfortunately, the Jubilee Year Opening Mass originally scheduled for January 5, 2025, at 11:30 a.m. at the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle has been postponed because Bishop Parkes is feeling under the weather with cold symptoms. Please pray that our bishop will feel better soon! We will notify you when a new date has been scheduled.
If you cannot attend in person, there is an option to pray along via livestream at www.dosp.org/livestream, Facebook.com/DioStPete, or YouTube.com/DioceseofStPete. Also, the Mass will be broadcast live on Spirit FM 90.5.
Catholics will be able to receive a plenary indulgence for participation in the Opening Mass of the Jubilee Year.
What is a plenary indulgence?
A plenary indulgence is a grace granted by the Catholic Church through the merits of Jesus Christ to remove the temporal punishment due to sin. The indulgence cleanses a person of all temporal punishment due to sin. However, it must always be accompanied by a full detachment from sin.
Conditions to receive a plenary indulgence in all cases:
1. Detachment from all sin, even venial.
2. Sacramental confession, holy Communion, and prayer for the intentions of the pope. Sacramental confession and receiving the Eucharist can happen up to about 20 days before or after the act performed to receive a plenary indulgence.
More Information about Indulgences:
In his document about Jubilee Year indulgences, Pope Francis has made accommodations for those who cannot travel or participate in person at Jubilee Year events for “serious reasons.” He states:
“The faithful who are truly repentant of sin but who cannot participate in the various solemn celebrations, pilgrimages and pious visits for serious reasons (especially cloistered nuns and monks, but also the elderly, the sick, prisoners, and those who, through their work in hospitals or other care facilities, provide continuous service to the sick), can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence, under the same conditions if, united in spirit with the faithful taking part in person, (especially when the words of the Supreme Pontiff or the diocesan Bishop are transmitted through the various means of communication), they recite the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any approved form, and other prayers in conformity with the objectives of the Holy Year, in their homes or wherever they are confined (e.g. in the chapel of the monastery, hospital, nursing home, prison...) offering up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives.”
The Holy Father further establishes the following indications, so that the faithful may take advantage of the "norms for obtaining and rendering spiritually fruitful the practice of the Jubilee indulgence" (Spes non confundit, 23).
“During the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, all others Indulgences previously granted remain in force. All the faithful, who are truly repentant and free from any affection for sin (cf. Enchiridion Indulgentiarum, IV ed., norm. 20, § 1), who are moved by a spirit of charity and who, during the Holy Year, purified through the sacrament of penance and refreshed by Holy Communion, pray for the intentions of the Supreme Pontiff, will be able to obtain from the treasury of the Church a plenary indulgence, with remission and forgiveness of all their sins, which can be applied in suffrage to the souls in Purgatory.”
To learn more about the Jubilee Year of Hope, click here.
If you have any questions, contact Teresa Peterson, Director of Diocesan Information and Communications at tlp@dosp.org.
