Archives for December 2024

December 27, 2024 by Jennifer Schack

W H A T | Opening of Jubilee Year 2025

W H E N | Sunday December 29, 2024, at 4 P.M. Mass

W H E R E | Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains: 325 W. 8^th St., Cincinnati OH

Release Date: December 27, 2024

Pope Francis Opens Jubilee Year 2025; Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr to Open Jubilee Year in Archdiocese of Cincinnati

On December 24, 2024, Pope Francis opened the Holy Door of Saint Peter’s Basilica in Rome, inaugurating the Ordinary Jubilee, a historic event that takes places every 25 years in the Catholic Church. The celebration of Jubilee 2025 will continue through the closing of this historic door on January 6, 2026. The theme for Jubilee 2025 is “Pilgrims of Hope”.

Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr will open the Jubilee Year in communion with dioceses around the world, during a Solemn Rite and Mass at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati on Sunday, December 29, at a 4 p.m. The faithful will first gather in the undercroft (basement) of the Cathedral Basilica. After introductory prayers and readings, the congregation will process to the main worship space of the Cathedral Basilica for the celebration of Mass.

During the procession, the faithful will follow a newly created Jubilee Cross. As instructed by the Holy Father, a special cross of “historical-artistic value” will mark the opening of the Jubilee. This Jubilee Cross has been created for this special year of Jubilee 2025. While the Cross and shaft have been crafted to match the processional crosses used by the Cathedral Basilica, the corpus (figure of Christ) holds particular historical significance. The corpus is the original corpus mounted in the sanctuary of the Cathedral Basilica at is dedication in 1845. It hung in the Cathedral Basilica until the church was renovated in the 1950s. This Jubilee Cross will displayed in the sanctuary of the Blessed Sacrament Chapel (south side of Cathedral Basilica) throughout the Jubilee Year.

A Jubilee Year is a special time in the Church’s tradition, encouraging holiness through acts of reconciliation and communion with our brothers and sisters. Seeking forgiveness and growing in repentance are special fruits to cultivate during a Jubilee Year. Special locations of prayer – sacred Jubilee sites – have been designated for the Jubilee Year in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. These include the Cathedral Basilica of St. Peter in Chains in Cincinnati, Maria Stein Shrine of the Holy Relics in Maria Stein and Emmanuel Church in Dayton.

For more information about Jubilee Year 2025 and local celebrations, please visit https://catholicaoc.org/jubilee-2025.

The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Cincinnati is the 45^thlargest Catholic diocese in the country, with nearly 440,000 Catholics, and has the fifth largest Catholic school system in terms of enrollment with more than 40,000 students. The 19-county territory includes 199 canonical parishes organized into 57 Families of Parishes, and 108 Catholic primary and secondary schools.

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Jennifer Schack

Director of Media Relations

Archdiocese of Cincinnati

Office | 513.263.6618

Cell | 859.512.5626

[email protected]

December 18, 2024 by Colin Rahill

Deacon Harry S. Walker, a deacon of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, died on December 11, 2024 at the age of 93.

Deacon Walker was ordained September 28, 1991 by Archbishop Daniel E. Pilarczyk. He served the Archdiocese as a permanent deacon for 33 years. Upon ordination, he was assigned to Our Lady of the Rosary Parish in Cincinnati. In 2001, he was reassigned to St. Columban Parish, where he has remained.

In 1992, Deacon Harry and his wife, Peg, were awarded the Community Service Award by the National Conference of Christians and Jews (NCCJ), Greater Cincinnati Region. The NCCJ recognized them for “outstanding contributions to the improvement of intergroup relations in the community”.

Margaret “Peg” Walker, Deacon Harry’s wife of 68 years, passed away on January 24 of this year. Deacon Harry leaves seven children, their spouses, nineteen grandchildren and fifteen great-grandchildren. He was also preceded in death by their son, James Paul Walker, who passed away in 2009.

Mass of Christian Burial will be on Friday, December 20, 2024 at 11 AM at St. Columban Catholic Church, 894 Oakland Rd, Loveland, OH 45140. Visitation will be in the church before the Mass from 9:30 to 10:45.

You may read the full obituary on the Tufts Schildmeyer Funeral Home website here.

Please keep the repose of the soul of Deacon Harry Walker in your prayers, as well as peace and consolation for his entire family.

December 12, 2024 by Colin Rahill

Reverend Paul A. Bader died on Saturday, December 7, 2024, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He was born on August 2, 1934, in Cincinnati, and baptized at Holy Family Church, Cincinnati. He did his preparatory studies at St. Gregory Seminary and studied theology at Mount St. Mary’s Seminary of the West. He was ordained on May 27, 1961, by Archbishop Karl J. Alter at St. Peter in Chains Cathedral, Cincinnati.

Father Bader received his first assignment on June 16, 1961, as assistant pastor of St. Columban Parish, Loveland. On September 4, 1968, he was appointed assistant pastor at St. Antoninus Parish, Cincinnati. On June 9, 1970, he was appointed assistant chaplain at Good Samaritan Hospital, Cincinnati. On June 20, 1973, he was appointed assistant pastor at St. Ann Parish, Hamilton. On July 24, 1973, he was appointed chaplain of the St. Vincent de Paul Council in Hamilton. Father Bader was appointed pastor of St. Ann Parish, Hamilton on November 15, 1977. He was appointed Dean of the Hamilton Deanery on July 1, 1983, and remained Dean until February 1986. On June 23, 1986, Father Bader was appointed pastor of Our Lady of the Rosary Parish, Greenhills (Cincinnati). He was appointed pastor of St. William Parish, Cincinnati on July 15, 1998, and re-appointed as pastor of St. William Parish on July 16, 2004. Father Bader retired from active ministry on July 1, 2005.

Reception of the Body: Friday, December 13, 2024, at 9:30 a.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary Church, 17 Farragut Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45218; (513-825-8626.) Celebrant and Homilist: Very Reverend Jan K. Schmidt. Visitation: will continue until the Mass of Christian Burial begins.

Mass of Christian Burial: Friday, December 13, 2024, at 11:00 a.m. at Our Lady of the Rosary Church. Celebrant and Homilist: Reverend Alexander C. McCullough.

Burial: Friday, December 13, 2024, following the Mass of Christian Burial, at Saint Joseph New Cemetery, 4500 Foley Road, Cincinnati, Ohio 45238. Celebrant: Deacon Matthew Skinner.

Associates of the Marian Pact are asked to offer, as soon as possible, one Mass for the repose of the soul of Father Bader, and when convenient, to provide for the celebration of two other Masses.

May God welcome Father Bader, His servant and priest, into the glory of heaven. May he rest in peace.

December 4, 2024 by Colin Rahill

Deacon Thomas Miller, a deacon incardinated in the Diocese of Wilmington and granted faculties in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, died on November 26, 2024 at the age of 78 after a long period of declining health.

Deacon Tom was ordained by for the Diocese of Wilmington, Delaware on November 18, 2000. After serving as a deacon in Delaware and Pennsylvania, he and his wife Sallie moved to Dayton in 2016 to be near their daughter and her family. Deacon Tom was granted faculties for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati by Archbishop Dennis M. Schnurr in March, 2017 and served faithfully at St. Charles Borromeo Parish in Kettering until 2021 when the effects of Alzheimer’s led to his requesting senior status. Deacon Tom served in Delaware and Pennsylvania for sixteen years and the Archdiocese of Cincinnati for four years.

Deacon Tom’s wife, Sallie, died in February of this year. They were married for 52 years. He leaves his children, Kelly (Thomas), Gregg (Danielle), and Jeffrey, as well as his grandchildren, Andrew, Emily, and Daniel.

Mass of Christian Burial will take place on Friday, December 6, 2024 at 11:30 a.m. at St. Charles Borromeo Catholic Church, 4500 Ackerman Blvd, Kettering, OH 45429. There will be a visitation for about an hour prior to the beginning of the Mass. Father Dan Meyer will be presiding.

You may read the full obituary on the Tobias Funeral Home website here.

Please keep the repose of the soul of Deacon Thomas Miller in your prayers, as well as peace and consolation for his entire family.

December 1, 2024 by Colin Rahill

Download PDF Version – English | Download PDF Version – Spanish

On the evening of Tuesday, December 24, Pope Francis will preside over the celebration of Holy Mass in St. Peter’s Square to officially open the Holy Jubilee Year of 2025, the theme of which is Pilgrims of Hope. The Holy Father begins his solemn Bull of Indiction of the Ordinary Jubilee of the Year 2025 quoting from St. Paul’s Letter to the Romans: “Hope does not disappoint” (Rom. 5:5). With these words, the pope emphasizes the importance of hope as an integral part of Christian life. He writes, “Everyone knows what it is to hope. In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring” (Spes non confundit, 1).

Hope is the virtue, given to us by God at our baptism, which sustains us in this world as we progress towards the fullness of life in eternity. It is fitting to set aside the coming year as a time when we not only thank God for the gift of hope but, through an increase of prayer and devotion, ask Him to strengthen that virtue in our hearts. Only then can we offer the hope of fullness of life with God in Heaven to a world deeply in need of healing and grace.

The tradition of the jubilee celebration traces its roots to the ancient Israelites. In the Book of Leviticus, God instructed His people that every 50 years they were to celebrate a jubilee. It was a year in which property was restored to its hereditary owners, slaves were freed, and the land was left to rest without any formal farming of crops. These measures were included in the Law as a means of maintaining equilibrium among the peoples, such that no one would become too rich or too poor. All would be reminded that they are entirely dependent on God for everything.

Now, millennia later, we still need to be reminded that we are dependent on God in all things, that He alone is the source of our hope. This is especially important for us to consider given that we live in a culture which places the importance of self above all else. Before us is a year set aside, in a particular way, to prayerfully contemplate all that we have received from God. The Jubilee Year is a time of thanksgiving. It is also a time in which we can implore God’s mercy, reflecting on those occasions when we have placed ourselves above God and neighbor.

Seeking forgiveness and growing in repentance, then, are special fruits we should cultivate during the Jubilee Year. Of great importance in this regard is the Jubilee Indulgence. An indulgence is a special grant of divine mercy, through the ministry of the Church, which removes the temporal punishment due to our sins. There are many ways that this spiritual gift can be obtained during the Jubilee Year. The normal conditions for receiving an indulgence apply (being truly repentant and unattached to sin, receiving Holy Communion and the sacrament of penance, and praying for the Holy Father’s intentions). In addition to those pious practices, a particular act of devotion, such as a pilgrimage, is to be done.

Here in the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, three locations will be established as Jubilee Pilgrimage Sites: the Cathedral Basilica of Saint Peter in Chains, the Shrine of the Holy Relics at Maria Stein, and Emmanuel Catholic Church, Dayton. A pilgrimage visit to any of these sites can apply to the reception of the Jubilee Indulgence. Please join me in praying that many of the faithful will take advantage of this opportunity. And may we all pray together, as Pilgrims of Hope, for openness to receiving the graces God is prepared to pour out upon us during this Holy Year 2025.