Addressing a recent Limerick Diocesan Assembly held in preparation for the new pastoral year, Bishop Leahy said we should all lean into the theme of Pope Francis 2025 ‘Jubilee Year of Hope’.
Attendees at the assembly included parish representatives, religious orders, associations and other groups across the Diocese.
Bishop Leahy said that Pope Francis wants next year’s jubilee to be a year of prayerful hope for a world suffering the impacts of war, the ongoing effects of Covid-19 pandemic, and climate crisis.
The year will begin on Christmas Eve with the opening of the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica, and on December 29, bishops will celebrate Mass in each diocese as the solemn opening of the Holy Year, and thereafter events will be organised locally.
Speaking after the Limerick Diocesan Assembly, Bishop Leahy said: “We had the assembly to prepare for the pastoral year ahead and this coming year dovetails brilliantly with Pope Francis’ Jubilee of Hope as hope is something we all need to have and something we need to give to others.
“Hope is something we especially need today. On the one hand we have a country with an economy that we’re told has never been stronger, on the other we are listening to a constant refrain of homelessness, challenges with addiction, people on the margins. We’ve the harrowing situation in the Middle East with the horrors there reaching into all our hearts. Many people have had their lives changed irrecoverably by Covid, not least many elderly."
So, it’s easy to be discouraged, said Bishop Leahy.
We know in the Church also there are strong headwinds blowing against us such as church scandals, the distance of many people from regular church attendance, the misunderstandings that can arise so easily, the challenge of the lack of clergy, the difficulty of connecting with the younger church.
“Yet, we know we have a great message to offer, one that makes such a difference in our own lives. We know how much the spirit of hope abounds at Christmas, which is one of the great messages of hope and the timing of the commencement of the jubilee on Christmas eve is no coincidence.”
Bishop Leahy asked that in the build up to the commencement of the jubilee, for the next two months plus, people to think about hope, about having hope and about giving hope.
“For example, when we meet others who are not going to Church but are unhappy or struggling without much hope to keep them going, we would love to find the way to communicate faith to them. We need to reach out with hope.”
Bishop Leahy said that Limerick Diocese will be going on pilgrimage to Rome at the end of March as part of the jubilee year. Some 60 people have already booked into the programme, with just three places left. There will also be a youth pilgrimage to Rome for the youth jubilee with Pope Francis at the end of July.
Also at the Limerick Diocesan Assembly, participants were also given updates about initiatives over the past year – various initiatives for young people, a video-presentation of the Lourdes pilgrimage now fully back running after Covid with assisted pilgrims and an inspiring input on the creative response of Athea parish to the situation of no longer having a resident priest in the parish.
The assembly provided opportunities also to review current developments such as the formation projects proposed by the Dominican Sisters in St Saviour’s parish, the outreach initiatives (such as going to shopping centres before Christmas) by the Cathedral Pastoral unit, and a number of ecumenical and ecological pilgrimage walks organised by a number of parishes.
Of particular interest was the presentation of the Formation Programme for Lay Pastoral Ministry and Leadership open to people interested and beginning shortly.
There was a very informative update on the Synodal Pathway with the second session taking place this October. Bishop Leahy is one of two Irish Bishops attending.