Bishop Raica has designated the Chapel of Our Savior as a Jubilee Pilgrimage site. As the Universal Church marks the Jubilee this year, it is a time of spiritual reconciliation and renewal for the faithful, striving to be “Pilgrims of Hope.”

One aspect of the Holy Year is pilgrimage, which by its very nature is an "experience of conversion." Spiritually, pilgrimage represents the Christian life as a journey towards a deeper relationship with Christ, conforming one's life to the holiness of Christ's.

Another aspect of the Holy Year is an indulgence. Indulgences are offered by the Church for the one seeking the indulgence or for the souls in Purgatory, and they forgive the temporal punishment due to sin that remains after the eternal punishment of our sins has been forgiven. “To put it another way,” explains Father Bryan Jerabek, judicial vicar for the diocese, “effects of our sins remain even after they have been pardoned by God. These effects take multiple forms: a debt of justice, harm caused to others, wounds in our own souls, strained relationships, difficult memories, and so forth.” Father Jerabek continued: “Indulgences may be plenary (complete, full) or partial. When one successfully gains a plenary indulgence, the entirety of his temporal punishment due to sin (his spiritual debt) is remitted, thanks to the grace of God made available by the Church, using the Power of the Keys given to her by Christ Himself.”

According to Father Jerabek, to gain any plenary indulgence, it is necessary to fulfill certain conditions. First, one must intend to receive the indulgence (a general or virtual intention is sufficient). Second, one must be free from all attachment to or affection for sin, even venial sin. Third, the one seeking the indulgence must go to Holy Communion in the state of grace within 20 days before or after intending to receive the indulgence. Fourth, one must go to confession within 20 days before or after intending to receive the indulgence. Fifth, one must pray for the intentions of the Holy Father (typically, by praying an Our Father, a Hail Mary, and a Glory Be). Lastly, the person seeking the indulgence must do the specific work connected with gaining the indulgence.

The faithful can obtain the Jubilee Indulgence if they make a pilgrimage to any Jubilee site for Holy Mass, Liturgy of the Hours, the Via Crucis, the Marian Rosary, the recitation of the Akathist hymn, or a penitential celebration. The sites are the Cathedral of St. Paul in Birmingham; Chapel of Holy Wisdom at St. Francis of Assisi University Parish in Tuscaloosa (bell tower adjacent to Saban Catholic Student Center); St. Leo the Great Catholic Church in Demopolis; St. Joseph’s Chapel at Annunciation of the Lord Catholic Church in Decatur; Good Shepherd Catholic Church in Russellville; Holy Spirit Adoration Chapel at Holy Spirit Catholic Church in Huntsville; St. Mary of the Visitation Catholic Church in Huntsville; Our Lady of the Valley Catholic Church in Fort Payne; St. John the Apostle Catholic Church in Alexander City; Chapel of Our Savior at Our Lady of Sorrows Catholic Church in Homewood; and the Shrine of the Most Blessed Sacrament in Hanceville.

The faithful may also obtain a Jubilee Indulgence if they visit any Jubilee Site for a “suitable period of time” and engage in “Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Our Father, the Profession of Faith in any legitimate form, and invocations to Mary, the Mother of God.” For those unable to participate in a pilgrimage (i.e., cloister religious, the elderly, the sick, prisoners, or those who offer continual care for the sick), the Jubilee Indulgence can be obtained if they are “united in spirit with the faithful taking part in person” and if “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 … offering up their sufferings or the hardships of their lives.” 

For more information about the Jubilee, please visit www.bhmdiocese.org/jubilee-2025 or www.bhmdiocese.org/diocesan-sites.