Pilgrims of the Philippines will have their work cut out for themselves in 2025, as the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) has designated a dizzying number of pilgrimage sites for the Year of Jubilee. Catholics of the Philippines will have 500 churches to choose from for their Jubilee celebrations.
According to MSN, representatives of the CBCP explained that the 500 designated churches will provide pilgrims with special places to visit during a “time of spiritual renewal and grace for the universal Church.” CBCP president and Cardinal-elect Pablo Virgilio David said:
“These sacred sites will offer the faithful an opportunity for deeper reflection, conversion and the experience of God’s infinite mercy.”
While not expressly noted in the report, the decision to designate 500 churches for pilgrimages in 2025 comes only a few years after the Philippines celebrated 500 years of Christianity, in 2021. While the celebration was initially pushed back due to the world pandemic, the year-long celebration was held between 2021 and 2022.
Pope Francis joined the festivities, celebrating the occasion in St. Peter’s Basilica, where he praised Philippine Catholics for receiving the joy of the Gospel. In his homily, he explained how that joy is evident in the people:
“We see it in your eyes, on your faces, in your songs and in your prayers. In the joy with which you bring your faith to other lands. I have often said that here in Rome Filipino women are “smugglers” of faith! Because wherever they go to work, they sow the faith. It is part of your genes, a blessed “infectiousness” that I urge you to preserve.”
A complete list of all 500 pilgrimage churches of the Philippines for the Jubilee Year of 2025 can be found at the website of the CBCP.
And today we celebrate...