Friday, January 10th 2025 Established 1905 27 Brickdam, Stabroek, Georgetown, Guyana Year 120, No. 1
Pope opens Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, launching ‘Jubilee of Hope’
Pope Francis pushes open the Holy Door of St. Peter's Basilica at the Vatican Dec. 24, 2024, inaugurating the Holy Year 2025. (CNS photo/ Romano Siciliani, pool)
VATICAN CITY (CNS) — In the quiet of Christmas Eve, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica, launching what he called a “Jubilee of Hope.” As the doors opened, the bells of the basilica began to peal. After the reading of a brief passage from the Gospel of John in which Jesus describes himself as “the door,” Pope Francis briefly left the atrium of the basilica, creating some confusion. But when the cardinals in the front row sat down, the others did likewise. Three minutes later, the pope returned. He was pushed in his wheelchair up the ramp to the Holy Door. In silence, he raised himself from the chair to knock five times, and aides inside slowly opened the door, which had been framed in (please turn to page 10)
At age 116, religious sister from Brazil is the oldest person on the planet - p2 On New Year's, pope calls for real commitment to respect human life- p3 Pope praises Jimmy Carter’s ‘deep Christian faith’ - p3 A Christian Perspective on Social Issues - p4 Sunday Scripture - p5 AEC Permanent Board meets - p6 St. Peter’s Holy Door sees more than half a million pilgrims in two weeks - p7 Baptisms in Region 8 - p8 Why does the Christmas season end with Jesus’ baptism? - p8 Children’s Page - p9 Growing in Grace Week 49 - p10 Polish Three Kings Parades attract 2 million in Jubilee Year - p11 Pope's January prayer intention: 'for the right to an education' - p12 Nativity Pageant at Sacred Heart - p14 Christmas Concert at Mara - p14
Year with Mass at Brickdam Cathedral On Sunday, December 29th 2024, Bishop Francis Alleyne OSB welcomed the Holy Year of the Jubilee 2025 locally with a Mass at 9am at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, Brickdam, Georgetown. The Mass was celebrated by Bishop Francis and concelebrated by Fr. George Kaiprampatt Poulo SJ and Fr. Santiago Felipe Lantigua Santana SJ. The Jubilee Year was declared by Pope Francis in Rome on December 24th and in each Diocese in the world on December 29th - the feast of the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary and Joseph. Faith communities throughout the entire Diocese joined in one celebration on that day by gathering for worship in their churches at 9am, and participated virtually in the mass livestreamed from the Cathedral, viewing it via projector or TV. The launch of the Jubilee Year began with Bishop Francis and the faithful (including representatives of various parishes in the Diocese) processing around the Cathedral compound before entering the church. At the start of the liturgy, several passages (please turn to page 13)
Bishop’s Engagements Sunday, January 12th - Travel to Peru Monday, January 13th to 14th - Meeting with CEAMA (Ecclesial Conference of the Amazon) Wednesday, January 15th to 19th - Attend 35th Anniversary of Obra de Maria, Recife, Brazil Sunday, January 19th to February 2nd Retreat for Bishops, Belo Horizante, Brazil Monday, February 3rd - Return to Guyana During my absence for the period January 12th to February 3rd all matters relating to the Diocese could be referred to my Office and Reverend Ronald Fernandes, SJ - Vicar General.
Francis Alleyne OSB