Blessed be the God and Father of Our Lord Jesus Christ, who in his great mercy gave us a new birth to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ …  1 Peter 1:3

Saint Mary’s of the Barrens Church, home of the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal in Perryville, is one of nine pilgrimage sites in the Archdiocese of Saint Louis for the Jubilee Year of Hope for 2025.

Pope Francis announced a Jubilee Year of Hope for 2025. The celebration of the Jubilee began on Christmas Eve, 2024, with the opening of the Holy Door at the Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome. It continues through January 6, 2026.

“Christian hope … is grounded in the certainty that nothing and no one may ever separate us from God’s love,” the Holy Father wrote.

The faithful will be able to obtain the special grace of a “Jubilee Indulgence” (a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven) by fulfilling certain exercises in conjunction with making a pious pilgrimage to the National Shrine of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal or another sacred Jubilee site.

“The Vincentian Family is humbled by the designation of its historic home as a sacred site during 2025,” said Spiritual Director Father Clayton Kilburn, C.M. “We look forward to welcoming thousands of pilgrims of hope to Saint Mary’s of the Barrens –– the National Shrine Church of Our Lady of the Miraculous Medal. Walking by faith with the Blessed Virgin at our side, we can be assured of obtaining God’s mercy as we await the fulfillment of the joyous promise of eternal life with Christ in heaven.”

Below are several links to more information about the Jubilee Year of Hope, indulgences, and the National Shrine’s calendar of Masses and other public events associated with this special year.

Vatican website: www.iubilaeum2025.va/en.html

USCCB site: www.usccb.org/committees/jubilee-2025

Archdiocesan website: archstl.org/2025jubileeyear