By Lissy Maruthanakuzhy
Panaji, Jan 25, 2025: The archdiocese of Goa and Daman became the 64th diocese in India to host the Jubilee Yatra.
The western Indian archdiocese received the yatra with the theme “Pilgrimage of Hope” on January 23 with prayers and recollection at Pius X Pastoral Centre, Old Goa.
Priests, representatives from all religious congregations and laity in the archdiocese attended the ceremony.
Introducing the yatra, Auxiliary Bishop Simiao Fernandes of Goa and Daman, said, “It is not a journey on foot but a pilgrimage of the heart; it is not a physical journey, but a spiritual voyage that seeks to connect the believers across the Country in a shared pursuit of hope. Renewal, reflection, and consciousness are the milestones of the journey.”
Inaugurating the program, Cardinal Filipe Neri Ferrao, Archbishop of Goa-Daman, described it as “ecclesial event” that began December 26, 2024, in Rome. “We are living in an important time of the Church. The Synodal journey we began in 2023 continues. Now it is the time for Synodal implementation.”
Father Enoc Macwan, a member of the national jubilee team, led the prayer on the theme “Pilgrims of Hope on the Synodal Pathways.”
Referring to the words “Like a flame my hope is burning” in the jubilee anthem, he said, “It is the intention of Pope Francis that the flame of hope burns and grows stronger warming many and becoming more attractive to others.”
“The focus of the Jubilee year is Christ. That is why the symbol is the cross. Archdiocese of Goa has a special cross made of wood from all its parishes,” he said commenting on the special Jubilee Cross.
“The Church always rejuvenates. All religions reach us to God, yet there is the need to preach Christ,” Father Macwan said. “We celebrate the Eucharist every day. It is the life of the Church. This is what we priests can do for others.”
The yatra is organized under the auspices of the Jubilee 2025 Desk of the Conference of Catholic Bishops of India (CCBI) in collaboration with 132 Latin dioceses in the country.
It has been planned by the National Facilitating Team of the Ordinary Jubilee 2025, headed by Father Yesu Karunanidhi.
Archbishop Anil Joseph Thomas Couto, CCBI secretary general, released the ritual for the jubilee on November 30, 2024 in New Delhi.
The ritual contains prayers and liturgical guidelines for various celebrations during the Jubilee Year 2025. It is designed to assist bishops and priests in leading liturgical events in their dioceses.
The yatra is scheduled to end in Goa on December 28 after visiting all the 132 dioceses.
The objectives of the yatra are:
To disseminate the information concerning the Ordinary Jubilee 2025 integrating it with the Synod for a Synodal Church so that more people are brought to ‘synodal-consciousness.’
To introduce the four documents- Sacrosanctum Concilium, Lumen Gentium, Dei Verbum & Gaudium et Spes – of the Second Vatican Council, especially the four constitutions, by bringing out the key themes and making them contextual to the life-realities of the people;
To familiarize the Catholics in the country with different forms and methods of prayer.