By Champion Shrine Staff

The Universal Church celebrates a Jubilee in the year 2025 and it is an incredible opportunity for the faithful to renew one’s life of prayer and receive special jubilee graces along their journey to our heavenly home. Many Catholics choose to participate in these opportunities for grace by pilgrimaging to designated Jubilee Sites – from Rome to within their own Diocese. These locations are usually holy sites, shrines, or churches devoted to a particular Saint that can help the faithful encounter the beautiful and spiritual nature of pilgrimage.  

Looking to learn more about celebrating the Jubilee year alongside Our Lady? This guide dives into everything you need to know! 

Pilgrims of Hope 

This year’s Jubilee theme is titled “Pilgrims of Hope,” and it serves as a reminder for the Church to “fan the flame of hope that has been given us and help everyone to gain new strength and certainty by looking to the future with an open spirit, a trusting heart, and farsighted vision.” (From the Holy Father’s Letter to Archbishop Rino Fisichella about the 2025 Jubilee) 

In the Holy Father’s Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year, Pope Francis states: 

“The coming Jubilee will thus be a Holy Year marked by the hope that does not fade, our hope in God. May it help us to recover the confident trust that we require, in the Church and in society, in our interpersonal relationships, in international relations, and in our task of promoting the dignity of all persons and respect for God’s gift of creation. May the witness of believers be for our world a leaven of authentic hope, a harbinger of new heavens and new earth (cf. 2 Pet 3:13), where men and women will dwell in justice and harmony, in joyful expectation of the fulfillment of the Lord’s promises.” (Spes Non Confundit, 25) 

Inspired by these words, let us be drawn to the hope that does not fade while on pilgrimage to our heavenly home, and may our witness to this hope spread to all who seek it.  

Finding Solace in Mary, Our Mother of Hope 

Turning back to Pope Francis’ Bull of Indiction for the Jubilee Year, he draws on a beautiful connection with Mary, the Mother of God: 

“Hope finds its supreme witness in the Mother of God. In the Blessed Virgin, we see that hope is not naive optimism but a gift of grace amid the realities of life. Like every mother, whenever Mary looked at her Son, she thought of his future. Surely, she kept pondering in her heart the words spoken to her in the Temple by the elderly Simeon: “This child is destined for the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be opposed, so that the inner thoughts of many will be revealed – and a sword will pierce your own soul too” (Lk 2:34-35). At the foot of the cross, she witnessed the passion and death of Jesus, her innocent son. Overwhelmed with grief, she nonetheless renewed her “fiat,” never abandoning her hope and trust in God. In this way, Mary cooperated for our sake in the fulfillment of all that her Son had foretold in announcing that he would have to “undergo great suffering, and be rejected by the elders, the chief priests, and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mk 8:31). In the travail of that sorrow, offered in love, Mary became our Mother, the Mother of Hope. It is not by chance that popular piety continues to invoke the Blessed Virgin as Stella Maris, a title that bespeaks the sure hope that, amid the tempests of this life, the Mother of God comes to our aid, sustains us and encourages us to persevere in hope and trust.” (Spes Non Confundit, 24) 

It is the Holy Father’s hope that “Everyone, especially the suffering and those most in need, will come to know the closeness of Mary, the most affectionate of mothers, who never abandons her children and who, for the holy people of God, is “a sign of certain hope and comfort.” (Spes Non Confundit, 24) 

As you pilgrimage in hope, we hope that the many Marian Shrines around the world, and especially here in the United States, can be sacred places of welcome and spaces for the rebirth of hope through the intercession of Our Lady.  

Champion Shrine as a Designated Site 

This Jubilee Year, the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion has been selected as a Jubilee Site by Bishop David L. Ricken, allowing the faithful – near and far – to travel to Champion and find spiritual refuge and hope at Our Lady’s Shrine.

Through Adele Brise, Our Lady of Champion brought a message of hope to the faithful, “Go, and fear nothing, I will help you.” This is similar to Our Lady’s call to Juan Diego, “Am I not here, who am your mother?” These messages continue to touch the hearts of those who place their cares, sorrow and hopes in the holy Mother of God.  

As you enter these holy grounds of the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, you have embarked on a pilgrimage journey that leads you to Christ through His most Blessed Mother.  

How to Receive a Jubilee Indulgence at Champion Shrine 

A plenary indulgence, or Jubilee Indulgence, might be obtained by devoutly visiting the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion during the Jubilee Year. 

An indulgence is a powerful gift to the souls of believers. Indulgences aid in healing the brokenness caused by our sins in this world and reduce or completely eliminate the temporal punishment due to our sins. Indulgences are either partial or plenary (complete), and may be obtained for oneself or for the souls of the deceased. One plenary indulgence may be received each day.  

To obtain this special Jubilee grace at Champion, those members of the faithful who are truly repentant of their sins and moved by a spirit of mercy are to: 

  1. Pilgrimage to Champion Shrine this Jubilee Year 
  2. Make a Profession of Faith (Nicene Creed or Apostles Creed) 
  3. Pray for the Holy Father’s Intentions for the Church and the World by reciting the Our Father 
  4. Receive Holy Eucharist 
  5. Receive the Sacrament of Reconciliation* 

To receive these special graces, one must be truly free from all willful attachment to sin.  

*Please note: the Sacrament of Reconciliation may be received 20 days before or after performing the prescribed acts.  

Champion Events Surrounding the Jubilee Year 

As you plan your pilgrimage to Champion this Jubilee Year, there are many opportunities to make the most of your time in Champion. 

Below are some featured events in 2025: 

Living out the Jubilee Year in Everyday Life 

Like Mary, we are all called to be Pilgrims of Hope today and every day until we reach our heavenly home. As Paul writes in his letter to the Hebrews, “May we who have taken refuge in him be strongly encouraged to seize the hope set before us. We have this hope, a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters the inner shrine behind the curtain, where Jesus, a forerunner on our behalf, has entered” (Heb 6:18-20). 

These words encourage us to always find refuge in the hope that has been given to us as adopted sons and daughters of God. When we can hold fast to his hope, we will surely live as witnesses to God – to our families, to our communities, and to the world – just as Our Lady is! 

May the power of hope fill our days as we confidently await, alongside Our Lady, the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

To learn more about celebrating this Jubilee Year at the National Shrine of Our Lady of Champion, please visit championshrine.org/jubilee. To plan your pilgrimage to Champion this year, you can find many great resources at championshrine.org/visit.