The Jubilee Year of Hope concludes Jan. 6, but the graces will continue. Pope Francis urged the faithful to make a pilgrimage to designated Jubilee sites with the possibility of earning a plenary indulgence, which removes all temporal punishment due to sin and can be for oneself or applied to the dead.
In the Arlington diocese, Bishop Michael F. Burbidge championed the late pope’s request. The Cathedral of St. Thomas More in Arlington was one of eight sites in the diocese. Pilgrims who visited all of them could receive a miniature replica of the rose window from the cathedral.
Bishop Burbidge presented the gift to a special pilgrim who went above and beyond the call. Stephen Buchanan, 19 and a parishioner of St. Mary of Sorrows in Fairfax, and his family visited all the parish churches, mission churches, Eastern rite churches and college chapels in the diocese — more than 80 churches in 15 weeks. The cathedral is one of his favorites, according to his mother, Lisa Buchanan.
For Stephen, churches are so accepting and including,” said Lisa, who praises Bishop Burbidge’s support of the special needs community. Stephen has autism.
“Despite an expressive language disorder and communication challenges due to autism, he always told us how he wanted to see ‘My friend, Jesus’ or ‘My friend, Mary’ throughout our many church visits,” she said.
The Buchanans invited their friends to send them prayer intentions and they shared photos of their journey on Facebook. During their overnight trip to the Northern Neck, they met up with friends and family who gave them special tours of their churches. At each church, Stephen enjoyed looking at the different art pieces before sitting in a pew to pray before leaving.
“Stephen is such a spiritual person,” said Lisa. “He taught us how important it is to have that personal relationship with Jesus and that was good for the whole family.”
Some pilgrims in the diocese were inspired to take a leap of faith and a leap across the pond to the Holy Doors in Rome during the Jubilee Year. Sylvia Andes, a parishioner of All Saints Catholic Church in Manassas, signed up with her sister in January to volunteer at the Vatican for the Jubilee Year.
According to Andes, they decided to do it this year because they weren’t sure if they would be able to for the next jubilee in 25 years.
“We received the acceptance notifications in May, which we had to translate from Italian and then we didn’t hear anything until we got to Rome,” said Andes. “We showed up for our half-day orientation and then we were sent to our stations. As a volunteer, we were doing crowd control for the pilgrims who were doing the pilgrimage walk. The walk is about a mile and a half from the Vatican toward the Holy Doors.”
Each morning for one week, the sisters donned lime green vests and commuted from their lodgings on a military base into the city to assist pilgrims from all over the world.
“It was exhausting but rewarding,” said Andes. “It actually makes you grow a lot in your faith. We had never done anything like this before. We always look at the Vatican as something so big and out of reach, but these opportunities do exist,” said Andes, who hopes to volunteer in Lourdes, France, one day.
Andrew and Megan Ronnfeldt, parishioners of St. James Church in Falls Church, went to Rome for a special marriage blessing from Pope Leo XIV at the Vatican Sept. 3.
They met in Washington while Megan, originally from Pittsburgh, was serving in the U.S. Navy. They were inspired by the election of Pope Leo and decided to make the trip to Rome.
“We heard about a program through the North American College that allowed newlyweds to receive a blessing within a year of their wedding,” said Ronnfeldt.
When Pope Leo came over to them, they presented him with a U.S. Navy prayer coin, a traditional military challenge coin with a religious inscription, and a magnet from St. James. They also had some rosaries blessed, which they gave to their family in Minnesota at Thanksgiving.
“A wonderful part of pilgrimage is what happens when you get back,” said Ronnfeldt. “Sharing it with our family and friends continues the wonderful experience.”
While most of these pilgrimage stories unusually involve planning, even if there was an element of surprise with the Jubilee Year, for some pilgrims it was unexpected and required digging into the deep reserves of faith to continue.
Becky Rehmann and her husband, Jarod, were not supposed to go on a cross-country pilgrimage with their five children. The hard-working medical professionals were supposed to be building a new life in North Carolina, one that would give them more time with their children. A business associate made a proposal that would allow Jarod more time at home but would also allow Becky to quit her job. It was a hard decision to sell their house in Arlington and leave everything and everyone behind. It was devastating when they arrived in North Carolina and realized their business partner was untrustworthy.
“We call him our Judas,” said Becky.
“But we felt God was still calling us, even though it felt like everything fell apart in the end,” said Jarod. “It was not easy. To surrender and trust when things are going well is easy, but when consolation is removed, it can be a struggle.”
They suddenly went from spending no time together as a family to spending all their time together. There was family morning prayer and evening prayer. Trips to adoration, family rosaries and reading Scripture together. Then came the invitation to Colorado and the road trip began. They visited churches and shrines, stopping to see friends and family they hadn’t seen in years. They didn’t hear about the Jubilee Year until they visited the National Shrine of the Infant Jesus of Prague in Prague, Okla., and saw a sign that designated it as a Jubilee site.
“We truly felt like pilgrims of hope,” said Becky. “For our kids it was the best summer ever.”
After a month on the road and seeing 21 states, they returned to Arlington. Becky was able to get her job back and they found a house. It seemed like they’re back where they started, but they said they are forever changed. They know God let them have this incredible journey for a reason.
“We have got to make time for putting God first,” said Jarod.
“Being pilgrims of hope to our eternal home in heaven, this is more real now,” said Becky.
There’s still time to make a pilgrimage and work toward a plenary indulgence. Christmas is the perfect time. Plan ahead and find the holy sites along your travel route. If anyone asks, “Are we there yet?,” remind them that the journey will net blessings and grace.
Kassock is a freelance writer in Fredericksburg.
