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A departure for hope: Bishop Elb's message for Advent 2024
During Advent, Bishop Elbs encourages an active encounter with Christ through charity and hope. A look at the Holy Year 2025 and the power of pilgrimage.
A departure for hope: Bishop Elb's message for Advent 2024
Advent is a time of departure. Bishop Benno Elbs from Feldkirch emphasizes in his pastoral word that Advent is not just a phase of waiting, but an invitation to actively approach Christ. “If we don’t want to walk past him, it makes sense to go in the same direction he comes from,” explains Elbs. This path is characterized by justice and charity, which leads us directly to the manger where God's love becomes visible.
He emphasizes that giving love and giving signs of hope during Advent is important in order to give your life a new direction. Elbs' message will be read out on the 1st Sunday of Advent in the church services of the Feldkirch diocese.
A look at the holy year 2025
Bishop Elbs also looks to the Holy Year 2025, which has the motto “Pilgrims of Hope”. Pope Francis wants to emphasize the importance of hope. “Hope is the most beautiful thing we can give other people,” emphasizes Elbs. This Christian hope helps people to remain steadfast even in difficult times, whether at the bedside or in moments of sadness and despair.
The encouragement to be open to a positive future and to trust in God's work is associated with the prospect of pilgrimages. Pilgrimage is a central element of every Holy Year. Bishop Elbs invites everyone to visit the Holy Gates in the large pilgrimage churches in Rome as well as the pilgrimage churches in the diocese of Feldkirch. In this context, he names the basilicas in Rankweil and Bildstein as well as the monastery church of St. Peter of the Dominican Sisters in Bludenz as “churches of hope”.
For the diocese of Feldkirch, the Holy Year is an important event, which will be ceremoniously opened on December 28th with a service in Dornbirn St. Martin. Bishop Elbs and the diocese call on people to take part in the planned spiritual initiatives in order to live the message of hope together. The diocese will provide more information about this on an ongoing basis.