MERRILLVILLE – Next year a group from the Diocese of Gary will visit Italy through a special pilgrimage with Bishop Robert McClory entitled “2025 Jubilee: Pilgrims of Hope.” Approximately 50 people from Northwest Indiana including a few friends from other states will travel to Rome from Sept. 25-Oct. 3 during the Year of Jubilee designated by Pope Francis.
The dates of the trip were not selected randomly but intentionally picked to occur during two feast days that celebrate the Guardian Angels, the patron saints of the Diocese of Gary. On Sept. 29, the Feast of the Archangels, those on the pilgrimage will begin with Mass at St. Peter’s Basilica, followed by a tour and opportunity to pray at the altar of St. Michael the Archangel. A few days later, on Oct. 2, the Solemnity of the Holy Angels Guardian Angels, the pilgrims will visit the Basilica of St. Mary of the Angels and of the Martyrs.
Bishop McClory was a young student priest, having just been ordained about six months when the last full jubilee year occurred in 2000. It was the first opportunity that he had to return home for Christmas in some time, but he didn’t want to miss the historic opening of the Jubilee year. So he remained in Rome to attend the midnight Mass where he saw the Holy Door opened at St. Peter’s Basilica by Pope John Paul II and then stayed up all night to catch a 6 a.m. flight back home to the United States.
“I’m really excited about being there for this jubilee year because it’s such a special opportunity,” Bishop McClory said. “There’s a real tradition of jubilees in Rome and the entrances to the Holy Doors, which are the doors to the four basilicas in Rome; it is a time of spiritual renewal and encounter with the Lord.”
Having resided in Rome for five years from 1995 to 2000, Bishop McClory served as a guide at St. Peter’s Basilica and has witnessed the profound impact that visiting the holy sites can have on the faithful.
“It’s the city of St. Peter and of St. Paul. From the earliest time when they were both martyred, pilgrims came because they knew that these holy men and holy women who lived, still had something to give,” he said.
Bishop McClory added it is a place where the faithful can encounter the saints of old and pointed out that by the time the pilgrimage occurs, Blessed Carlo Acutis will be named a saint. Those accompanying the bishop will be visiting the tomb of Acutis in Assisi, where the remains of the soon-to-be youngest saint were laid to rest.
Bishop McClory explained that a pilgrimage is more than a trip because those involved can each bring with them personal intentions, telling God what is on their heart, and they can also collect prayer intentions from others at home ahead of time so they can pray for their intentions while on the journey.
Also joining the pilgrimage will be Father Nathaniel Edquist, pastor of Holy Family Parish in LaPorte and vocations director for the diocese. He has only been to Rome once as a deacon in 2016.
Since it is a jubilee year, Father Edquist reflected on the fact that there are over a million people projected to be in Rome visiting the city in 2025.
“I’m looking forward to, of course, going to Assisi but just being able to celebrate with all these different groups within the Church and how important it is to recognize saints,” said Father Edquist.
Another priest, Father Jon Plavcan, will likewise be among the diocesan group traveling to Rome. The pastor of St. Patrick in Chesterton and St. Anne of the Dunes in Beverly Shores will be celebrating 30 years as a priest during the pilgrimage.
Bishop McClory promises the pilgrimage will be filled with three great things – faith, food and fun. The pilgrims will view the Colosseum, attend a Papal Audience with Pope Francis and have the opportunity to make their own pizza, in addition to seeing the Holy Doors of major basilicas of Rome that will be open for the special year.
The fact the pilgrimage is going to take place during the jubilee year got the attention of Donna Daugherty, a parishioner of St. Mary Crown Point. “It’s once every 25 years and I’m actually going with my family earlier in the year but to take a trip like this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.”
She is especially looking forward to seeing the Holy Doors.
“It’s just such a beautiful thing and it symbolizes the whole beautiful architecture of the Vatican itself,” Daugherty said.
Pope Francis will open the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica Dec. 24 and St. John Lateran Dec. 29. The Holy Door at St. Mary Major will be opened Jan. 1 and St. Paul Outside the Walls Jan. 5.
For more information on the 2025 Year of Jubilee, visit iubilaeum2025.va/en.html. To stay informed on how the Diocese of Gary plans to celebrate locally, visit dcgary.org.