A couple of times in the past few weeks I’ve
talked about the Holy Year—as part of a homily, in
the bulletin. We’ve reflected on Jesus’ words in the
Nazareth synagogue—“The Spirit of the Lord is upon
me…to proclaim a year of favor from the Lord.”
We’ve talked about pilgrimages and shrines and holy
doors.

Imagine my surprise when I learned that the Bishop
wanted to mark St. Boniface Church as a diocesan
site for pilgrimage this year. Suddenly, Holy Years
weren’t things that happen somewhere else—in
Rome, Assisi, or Jerusalem, in a cathedral or
basilica near or far. This building, one of our parish
churches, becomes a holy year space, a destination
for pilgrims.

On the one hand, it makes Holy Year 2025 pretty
easy for us. When we walk into this building we say
a few prayers (always remembering to pray for the
intentions of the Holy Father and provided we’ve
been to confession and communion) and gain
the Holy Year indulgence. Doing the ordinary and
every day becomes our pilgrimage.

But, it also means, we’re called to welcome pilgrims.
We’re invited to leave the church open a little more
than normal (and our normal is, by modern church
standards, pretty ample). We’re to provide some
special opportunities for prayer and for the
sacrament of reconciliation.

But, we’re challenged to truly welcome others! For
example, when we see the person obviously in the
building for the first time, say “hello.” When
someone asks directions to the worship space, the
confessional, or the lav, why not walk them to the
place instead of just saying “First door on the left”?
Hold the door for the person behind you. Engage
in conversation with the person you don’t know well.
If someone’s desperately looking for a seat, don’t
hug that end space—welcome them to worship with
us. If they’re looking for the Holy Year prayer card,
make sure you can tell them (Hint: there’s supposed
to be a large banner to help!).

Remember the old advice St. Benedict gave his
monks: “Every visitor should be welcome as Christ
himself.”