“In fellowship with the universal Church, as we celebrate the love of the Father that reveals itself in the flesh of the Word made man and in the sign of the cross, anchor of salvation, we solemnly open the Jubilee year for the Church of Saint Petersburg,” said Bishop Gregory Parkes at the start of the procession, that included prayers, Scripture reading, and a reading from the pope’s document on the Jubilee Year. 

Hundreds of people stood outside and reverently watched as an altar server held up the cross that was selected as the Jubilee Cross. The cross has a special significance to our Diocese in light of the recent hurricanes that have devastated parts of our community. It is the cross previously used at St. John Vianney Parish in St. Pete Beach for Good Friday veneration. The parish has been closed since September of last year, but Masses have been held outside under a tent as a sign of hope and resilience.

“I share the Holy Father’s desire that this Jubilee be an opportunity for renewed hope here in our Diocese and throughout the world. This has not been an easy year for us. I am thinking specifically of the challenges we have faced as a result of the unthinkable damage wrought by Hurricanes Helene and Milton. My heart especially breaks for the community of St. John Vianney which was our hardest hit parish,” said Bishop Parkes during the Opening Mass homily.

He continued, “This cross, carried in procession into our Cathedral today, will remain in the Cathedral throughout the Jubilee Year as a sign of the hope that we have in Jesus Christ, who in St. John’s Gospel reminds us, ‘In the world you will have trouble, but take courage, I have conquered the world.’”

During his homily, the bishop also spoke about the six local pilgrimage sites for this Jubilee Year. They include St. Benedict Catholic Church in Crystal River, St. Stanislaus Chapel in Brooksville, St. Leo Abbey Church in St. Leo, Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Tampa, Espiritu Santo Catholic Church in Safety Harbor, and the Cathedral of St. Jude the Apostle.

“As we travel to these sites, we are invited to reflect on our pilgrim journey and the ways we can continue to draw closer to Christ. But more than simply the fruit of our own effort, we recognize also how Christ desires to draw close to us in order to show us His love and mercy. And so, traveling to these sites also offers us an opportunity to receive Jubilee Year indulgences, the removal of all temporal punishment for our sins. In this way, we are invited to come to know deeply the Lord’s desire to remove all obstacles that stand in the way of being completely transformed by Him,” said Bishop Parkes.