The Jubilee Year of Hope concluded in the Diocese of Allentown on Sunday, Dec. 28, with a special Mass at the Cathedral of St. Catharine of Siena celebrated by Bishop Alfred Schlert.
It was a year of “grace, renewal, healing, and deepened trust in God’s loving providence” for the Diocese, Bishop Schlert told those gathered for the afternoon celebration. “What a gift it has been for me to walk this journey with you.”
The Cathedral was filled with people from parishes and schools throughout the five counties of the Diocese, along with priests, deacons, seminarians, and men and women religious.
“This past year,” Bishop Schlert said, “our Diocese has prayed, sacrificed, and renewed itself in hope. We asked the Lord for an increase of holy vocations, the return of those who have drifted from the Church, healing for our wounded world, confidence in God’s mercy, and strength for families striving to live the Gospel.”
“We have seen signs of that hope everywhere,” the Bishop said, including deeper prayer in parishes, renewed enthusiasm for the mission of Christ, quiet conversions of young people and others, and a growing desire by people to place the Holy Eucharist at the center of their lives.
“As we close the Jubilee Year of Hope,” Bishop Schlert said, “we do not close the graces it offered. We now carry forward hope in Christ’s mercy, the sacraments, prayer, holiness, and the future of our Diocese.”
The afternoon began with a performance by the combined Diocesan and Cathedral Choirs of “Gloria” by Antonio Vivaldi, an Italian composer of choral works and operas who also was an ordained priest.
Interspersed with the musical movements, Monsignor Donald Cieniewicz, Pastor of the Cathedral Parish, and Father Aaron Scheidel, Assistant Pastor, provided a narrative “tour” of the history, art, and architecture of the Cathedral.
Dec. 28 was the Feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph. The Jubilee Year of Hope was opened on Dec. 28, 2024, with a Mass at the Cathedral celebrated in conjunction with Catholics in dioceses around the world.
The ending of the worldwide Jubilee Year of Hope coincides with the beginning of a year-long celebration of the 65th anniversary of the founding of the Diocese of Allentown. It will start on Jan. 28, 2026, and end on Jan. 28, 2027.
The Diocese was founded by Pope St. John XXIII in 1961, when the five northern counties of the Archdiocese of Philadelphia – Berks, Carbon, Lehigh, Northampton, and Schuylkill – were split off into the new Diocese of Allentown.
The 65th Anniversary Year will be filled with pilgrimages, parish missions, special liturgies, and historical commemorations, Bishop Schlert said. More information on the upcoming anniversary events and celebration will be shared in the AD Times and on AD Today.
By Paul Wirth
Photo by Vargas Photography.
