The Jubilee year opened on Tuesday 24 December 2024. In Rome, Pope Francis opened Holy Doors in St Peter’s Basilica and in St. John Lateran – and here in Hexham & Newcastle, we also marked the occasion. Bishop Stephen opened the Jubilee Year at our two Jubilee Hub Churches, the Cathedral in Newcastle and St Joseph’s in Hartlepool, celebrating Mass at both churches on 29 December and the opening of the Holy Doors in both churches.
The theme of the Jubilee is ‘Pilgrims of Hope’. Pope Francis has said, ‘In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future will bring.’ The New Year is a time when people look ahead, and perhaps make New Year resolutions. So, it’s a great time to look ahead with Hope, and these opening ceremonies are a great opportunity for us to come together as pilgrims, and look ahead to 2025, not just a New Year, but a Jubilee Year.
St. Mary’s Cathedral in Newcastle, one of the Jubille Hub Churches for the Diocese of Hexham & Newcastlecelebrated the opening of its Holy Door on Sunday December 29th 2024, marking the start of the Jubilee Year 2025. Bishop Stephen Wright presided over the ceremony, opening the Holy Door as a symbol of the gates of heaven and a call to pilgrimage, prayer, and renewal for the faithful.
Bishop Stephen spoke about pilgrimage during his Homily, “A pilgrimage is an image and prayerful act of journeying towards Heaven. It is preparation, if you like, of our final journey to meet the Lord. The Holy Door is an image of the gates of heaven being opened to us. Our prayer, here below, prefigures us listening and speaking with the Lord face to face in Heaven. The Sacrament of Reconciliation makes present the mercy the Lord wishes to offer us, to fit us for heaven. The Eucharist prefigures the Lord sitting us at table and feeding us for all eternity at the heavenly banquet. The Eucharist is Christ’s real presence here and now. In short you can say a pilgrimage to the Holy Doors is a getting ready for Heaven. The more we pray, the more we receive the Lord’s mercy, the more we participate at Mass, the more familiar we will be in our heavenly home.”
Read Bishop Stephen’s full Homily here.
Our 2 Jubilee Hub Churches will be places of pilgrimage throughout the Jubilee Year, so why not plan a visit with your family or your parish during the year?
For further information about Pilgrimages and the Year of Jubilee, please visit our Jubilee 2025 page.
The Twenty-First Sunday in Ordinary Time | Sunday 24th August 2025
