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The Jubilee Year of Mercy has been celebrated in a variety of ways around the world.  In Rome Pope Francis opened the Holy Doors at St. Peter’s Basilica, Santa Maria Maggiore, and St. John Lateran.  Pilgrims from around the world are traveling to Rome for this special year.   The Jubilee Year of Mercy, however, is not only about pilgrimages to Rome.  Pope Francis has called on all Catholic to celebrate God’s Mercy where ever they are.  Holy Doors are not only in Rome, but also in cities and towns everywhere.  And they are not only in church buildings, but in hospitals, homeless shelters, and even in prisons.  The Pope assures the Church that God’s mercy extends to all.

This Jubilee Year of Mercy is being celebrated in countless ways within the Missionaries of the Precious Blood.  Programs in our parishes, shrines, schools, and mission houses have been planned in order to help the faithful experience the mercy of God.  Two events stand out for us as Missionaries of the Precious Blood.  First, on the Fourth Sunday of Lent, the Teutonic Province blessed and opened the Holy Doors at their Shrine of “Maria Hilf” in Kufstein, Austria.  The Shrine, with the Holy Doors, will serve as a place of mercy throughout the jubilee.

Secondly, at the beginning of Lent Pope Francis commissioned Missionaries of Mercy for the Jubilee Year of Mercy.  These Missionaries of Mercy come from dioceses and religious communities from around the world and are charged with organizing specific initiatives for the Jubilee.  In some ways, all Missionaries of the Precious Blood are Missionaries of Mercy since mercy is such an important part of our charism.  However, seven priests from the Missionaries of the Precious Blood have been designated and commissioned as Missionaries of Mercy:  Rev. Giovanni Francilia (Italian Province), Rev. John Wolf (Kansas City Province), and Revs. Steve Dos Santos, Timothy Knepper, George “Yuri” Kuzara, Jayababu Nuthulapati, and Kevin Scalf (Cincinnati Province).

Photos provided by the Cincinnati Province and the Teutonic Province

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