PRINCE ALBERT — The Prince Albert Catholic School Division aims to create more faith opportunities for students in keeping with the Jubilee Year declared by Pope Francis this year.
The theme for Jubilee Year 2025 is Pilgrims of Hope. It is dedicated to spiritual renewal, forgiveness and reconciliation in the Catholic Church, the Jubilee Year is celebrated every 25 years. To celebrate, the division is preparing declaration lessons for the year.
Director of Education Lorel Trumier updated the board on activities around the Jubilee Year during the boards’
"Pope Francis has declared this year as a Jubilee Year and so there are special celebrations and aspects of the year that really are able to continue to build our faith within those activities,” Trumier said.
Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors of St. Peter’s Basilica on Christmas Eve to officially open the Jubilee Year. Schools posted a letter about the Jubilee Year on Edsby during the week of Jan. 20.
Trumier said the theme Pilgrims of Hope emphasizes the church’s mission to promote peace and hope in the world.
“We're supposed to reflect on how we can promote peace and hope in the world around us,” she explained.
“That's the whole theme, be a Pilgrim of Hope to others. It's an opportunity for us to be spiritually renewed through doing that because you feel better when you support others and when you promote peace and hope in the world and what's going to happen.”
The Catholic division is taking part in the pilgrimage portion of the Jubilee Year by organizing pilgrimages to Sacred Heart Cathedral for each school in the division.
“Some of our students in our school division, for example, St. Mary, they get to have their masses right at the cathedral because they're across the street, but other schools often will work with their local parish,” Tumier explained. “For example, Holy Cross usually works with Saint Joe's Catholic Church, which is their closest church.”
She added that the cathedral has important meaning in the Jubilee Year as a designated church for visits.
"There are special Indulgences that we receive when we're going to the cathedral,” she explained. “We're going to arrange it over the next year so that each school will get an opportunity to go to the cathedral and experience the cathedral and learn more about the Jubilee year and what it's representing.”
