The Jubilee wraps up in the dioceses of Asia
Some 15,000 people gathered in Hanoi at the shrine of the Vietnamese martyrs to celebrate the conclusion of a Holy Year marked by more than a thousand pilgrimages. Celebrations were also held in dioceses in mainland China. In Japan, Cardinal Kikuchi addressed the Church of Tokyo: "May the flame of hope never be extinguished.”
Milan (AsiaNews) – The time has come for the dioceses of Asia to take stock of the Jubilee, experienced in communion with the universal Church. As Pope Francis's papal bull Spes non confundit envisioned, the final celebrations were held in each diocese last Sunday, the feast of the Holy Family.
A notable celebration was held in Hanoi, the Vietnamese capital, with more than 15,000 faithful gathered at the National Pilgrimage Centre dedicated to the Holy Vietnamese Martyrs in Sở Kiện, including 200 priests and approximately 600 men and women religious as well as seminarians from all over the archdiocese.
A video titled Reliving the Holy Year of Hope helped those present follow the journey of grace that God bestowed upon the archdiocese in the Holy Year through pilgrimages to the seven churches designated by the archdiocese for the Jubilee, offering each believer the opportunity for a personal encounter with God.
Across the archdiocese, some 1,062 pilgrimages were held, with approximately 415,000 participants in total.
In his homily, Archbishop Giuse (Joseph) Vũ Văn Thiên stressed that today's world is wounded by many conflicts, acts of violence, and divisions, prompting Christians to ask themselves where they can find hope. The Church's answer is Jesus himself.
"God comes," said the Archbishop of Hanoi, "so that humanity may dare to hope for something great. Humanity dares to hope because the Church affirms that God is faithful and loves humanity, despite its sins. Humanity also dares to hope because the Son of God conquered death and responded with love and forgiveness. Humanity hopes because it believes that the Holy Spirit is always present, illuminating and guiding, making the Church steadfast and persevering."
Closing celebrations for the Holy Year were also held in dioceses in mainland China. The Catholic website Xinde reported on the one held in the Diocese of Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province.
Leading the service was Bishop Joseph Yang Yongqiang, one of two prelates who took part in the Synod in the Vatican in 2023 and was subsequently moved with the consent of Pope Francis in 2024 to Hangzhou, an historically important episcopal see for the Church in China.
All the priests of the diocese, religious sisters, and representatives of the faithful from various parishes were present with him in the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception.
In his homily, Bishop Yang mentioned the origin and meaning of the Jubilee, retracing the diocese's growth during the Jubilee Year in prayer, evangelisation, charity, and communion.
He emphasised that "as pilgrims of hope, God has granted us many graces and blessings – we have learnt to pause, to listen to the needs of others, and to extend a helping hand."
He ended saying: “True pilgrimage does not consist in the distance travelled by foot, but in the fact that the heart remains always turned to God. Every 'pilgrim of hope' here today is a witness to Christ in the world. The closing Mass of the Jubilee is not an end, but a new starting point in our lives, which encourages us to continue moving forward.”
Cardinal Tarcisio Isao Kikuchi followed up the closing celebration of the Holy Year held in St Mary’s Cathedral in Tokyo on 1 January with a letter addressed to the diocese, pointedly titled “May the flame of hope never be extinguished”.
“The pilgrims of hope do not cease to exist with the closing of the Holy Year," writes the Archbishop of Tokyo. “As long as violence against life continues, the ecclesial community of pilgrims of hope will have the mission of bearing witness to hope amid the storms of this world. So that the flame of hope never dies, let us each continue our commitment, in our own context.”
"The synodal journey," adds Cardinal Kikuchi, "is a path that bears witness to hope. We cannot know in advance where the Holy Spirit will lead us. Walking together as a synodal community, supporting one another, and praying together, is a path that frees us from despair and generates hope. Like the missionary saints, who courageously entrusted themselves to the guidance of the Holy Spirit as they embarked on an unknown journey, we too desire to be a Church that courageously entrusts itself to the Spirit.”
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28/10/2024 18:03
