Dear Brothers and Sisters in Christ,
As we move into the new year, we should give some attention to the ways that 2025 is especially significant. First, on a universal level, 2025 is a Jubilee Year. These holy years, celebrated every 25 years, are a time to rejoice in God’s mercy and grace. In these years, Catholics traditionally make a pilgrimage to a holy site, as an outward and tangible sign of the pilgrimage of faith that is our journey through this world. For more information on the Jubilee year, I encourage you to visit www.iubilaeum2025.va. I will be part of a pilgrimage September 28 – Oct. 9 to Rome, Assisi, and Loreto: if you’d like to participate, please visit https://www.integratedlifefoundation.com/rome. Local opportunities for pilgrimage are also available, as Bishop Caggiano has designated holy doors at the Cathedral of St. Augustine in Bridgeport, the Basilica of St. John the Evangelist in Stamford, and St. Peter Church in Danbury.
In addition to the Jubilee Year of 2025, this year also marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of our parish. In the 70 years since Bishop Lawrence Sheehan established St. Pius X Parish, our community has grown and changed in many ways. A constant in that time is our profession of faith, our celebration of the sacraments, and our participation in the life of the Fairfield community. We will try to keep a special focus on our 70th anniversary in our various parish events, and will celebrate this anniversary in a particular way with a visit from Bishop Caggiano for the 11 AM Mass on Nov. 9, 2025.
This Jubilee and Anniversary year begins with a special initiative in the Diocese of Bridgeport: Called By Name Sunday. This is an effort to encourage young men to consider the possibility that God is calling them to the priesthood. You will hear Fr. Brendan and I speak about our own journey to the priesthood in our homilies this weekend. We do so at the request of Bishop Caggiano, with the hopes that our stories are apt complements to the liturgical celebration of the Baptism of the Lord, and a reminder of how God works through very ordinary means and calls very ordinary men to an extraordinary and blessed vocation. If you know a young man who you would like to encourage in his vocational discernment or who you think would be a good priest, please consider submitting his name and echoing the invitation of Jesus. Called By Name submissions can be made at https://bridgeportpriest.org/called/.
One final word to try to bring this all together. In a Jubilee, we are invited not only to experience personal conversion and grace, but to ask the Lord for special graces in a bold way. In the 70 year history of St. Pius X, one man from our parish has become a priest, Fr. Dominic Langevin, OP, a member of the Dominican order. In those 70 years, St. Pius has been served by many priests of the Diocese of Bridgeport who are native sons of Fairfield County. My special prayer intention in this anniversary year and Jubilee year is that a man from this parish would respond to God’s call to priestly ministry. As we have received many priests over the years, so may we send priests from our community to serve our broader Diocesan community!
A Prayer for Vocations
Father, in your plan for our salvation, you provide shepherds for your people. Fill your Church with the spirit of courage and charity. Raise up worthy priests for your altars, and ardent but gentle servants of the Gospel. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Peace,
Fr. Sam
