Roman Catholic 
Diocese of Ogdensburg

Jubilee 2025
Pilgrims of Hope

Bishop Terry LaValley announces and invites everyone to the opening of the Jubilee or Holy Year on Sunday, December 29 at the 11:00 am Mass at Saint Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg.​ 

Planning is well underway for events and opportunities for prayer across the diocese. Visit this webpage for updates!

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The Official Jubilee Prayer: Father in heaven, may the faith you have gifted us in your son Jesus Christ, our brother, and the flame of charity kindled in our hearts by the Holy Spirit, reawaken in us, the blessed hope for the coming of your Kingdom. May your grace transform us into diligent cultivators of the evangelical seeds that make humanity and the cosmos rise unto the confident expectation of the new heavens and the new earth, when with the powers of Evil overcome, your glory shall be manifested eternally. May the grace of the Jubilee reawaken in us, Pilgrims of Hope, the yearning for heavenly treasures and pour over all the earth the joy and peace of our Redeemer. To you God blessed in eternity, be praise and glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Making a Pilgrimage
The Jubilee Year offers everyone opportunities to participate in jubilee events at the Vatican and in their own dioceses.     

Pope Francis opened the first Holy Door, marking the beginning of the Jubilee of Hope, at St. Peter's Basilica on December 24, 2024. Other holy doors were opened at the Rome basilicas of St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major and St. Paul Outside the Walls.     

“In Catholic tradition, the Holy Door represents the passage to salvation — the path to a new and eternal life, which was opened to humanity by Jesus,” explained Pope Francis in Spes Non Confundit (Hope Does Not Disappoint), the papal bull officially proclaiming the Holy Year of 2025.

In crossing the threshold of the Holy Door, the pilgrim is reminded of the passage from chapter 10 of St John’s gospel: “I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture.” Passing through the Holy Door expresses the decision to follow and be guided by Jesus, who is the Good Shepherd.     

For pilgrims who cannot travel to Rome, bishops around the world have designated cathedrals, shrines and churches within their dioceses as special places of prayer for Holy Year pilgrims, offering opportunities for reconciliation, indulgences and other events intended to strengthen and revive faith.   

Pilgrimage sites in the Diocese of Ogdensburg by deanery:    

Adirondack Deanery 
St. Alphonsus Church in Tupper Lake
St. Bartholomew’s Church in Old Forge 
St. Mary’s Church in Ticonderoga    

Clinton-Franklin Deanery 
St. Peter’s Church in Plattsburgh 
Mother Cabrini Shrine in West Peru 
Notre Dame Church in Malone  


Jefferson-Lewis Deanery 
St. Mary’s Church in Clayton 
Holy Family Church in Watertown 
St. Stephen’s Church in Croghan  

St. Lawrence Deanery 
St. Mary’s Cathedral in Ogdensburg 
St. Mary’s Church in Canton