Holy year 2025: Hope and renewal in the diocese of St. Pölten!

Holy year 2025: Hope and renewal in the diocese of St. Pölten!

St. Pölten, Österreich - On December 31, 2024, the opening ceremony for Holy Year 2025 was celebrated in the dioceses of St. Pölten and Graz-Seckau. Bishop Alois Schwarz led the service in the St. Pöltner cathedral and underlined the importance of this holy year as an opportunity to experience God's mercy and renewal. In times that "got out of joint", he demanded that the Holy Year bring healing and focus on the encounters between people. To support faith, the Diocese of St. Pölten shows a number of events, including pilgrimages to Rome and spirituality seminars. This was reported by the St. Pöltner church newspaper "Church colorful". The diocese also named twelve "Jubilee Churches of Hope", including the St. Pöltner Cathedral and the Basilics Maria Taferl and Sonntagberg, which are symbols of God's healing word.

"pilgrim of hope" in Graz

The opening ceremony in the Graz Cathedral of Bishop Wilhelm Krautwaschl was led in Graz. He combined the occasion with the motto of the Holy Year "Pilgrim of Hope" and reflected on life as "lifelong pilgrimage". According to Krautwaschl, it is crucial to live and spread hope, especially at a time that demands prospects. He warned of "cheap populisms" and advocated to carry the necessary confidence to Styria as the "Holy Family of God of Graz-Seckau", as in the report of kathpress.at . Krautwaschl appealed that Christianity should stand together in their community and spread trusting messages.

Meanwhile, a historical tradition is reminiscent of the choice of "young bishops" in schools, as reported by alamy.de . The 13-year-old Timothy Owen-Burke was elected young bishop in a traditional ceremony and remains in this office for 23 days. This time -honored practice shows how deeply rooted faith in the cultural community is and is reminiscent of the importance of young voices in the church.