Join Bishop Richard F. Reidy on Sunday, January 4, 2026, at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick, Norwich, for the closing of the Jubilee Year with Confessions beginning at 12:30 p.m. (priests available for the Sacrament of Reconciliation), followed by Adoration and choral Vespers (Liturgy of the Hours) at 2:00 p.m.
See Letter from the Most Reverend Richard F. Reidy below
“May the light of Christian hope illumine every man and woman, as a message of God’s love addressed to all!” — Pope Francis
My dear brothers and sisters in the Lord,
On the Solemnity of Epiphany, January 4, 2026, at 2 pm, we will celebrate the closing of the Jubilee Year with Adoration and choral Liturgy of the Hours at the Cathedral of Saint Patrick in Norwich. With roots in the Old Testament (see Leviticus 25:8-55), a Jubilee Year is a special time of grace to grow in holiness, experience God’s mercy and be filled with hope.
Jubilee Years, typically held every twenty-five years, involve pilgrimages to Rome, the Holy Land or other sacred places. For those unable to travel abroad, I have designated Saint Patrick’s Cathedral as a local destination for the Jubilee Pilgrimage. One of the possible graces of a Jubilee Year is an Indulgence.
The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that, “An indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfactions of Christ and the saints. An indulgence is partial or plenary according as it removes either part or all of the temporal punishment due to sin. Indulgences may be applied to the living or the dead” (CCC 1471). For more on indulgences see the Catechism at 1472-3 or the Catholic Answers website (Year of Jubilee | Catholic Answers Guide to Jubilee 2025 | Catholic Answers Tract).
Indulgences are not magic. In addition to the pilgrimage to the Cathedral and prayers for the pope’s intentions, e.g. an Our Father, the Creed, a Hail Mary and Glory Be, indulgences require a proper disposition (a complete detachment from all sin, venial and mortal) and actions—sacramental confession, eucharistic communion which need to be carried out within a few days before or after the visit to the Cathedral.
The theme of the 2025 Jubilee Year is Pilgrims of Hope. On Epiphany, the Magi completed their pilgrimage to Bethlehem where, with joy, they adored the Savior of the world. Please join me on January 4 at 2 pm in traveling to the Cathedral where we, too, will bow before the same Christ Child in Adoration of the
Blessed Sacrament, receiving His graces and returning home to start the New Year with a renewed sense of the goodness, mercy and closeness of our God.
Sincerely Yours in Christ,
Richard F. Reidy
Bishop of Norwich
Livestream will be available for those unable to attend in person-Click Here