Local pilgrimage celebrates St. Francis' Jubilee year

TIFFIN — On Jan. 10, Pope Leo XIV declared this year to be the Jubilee year of Saint Francis of Assisi. Saint Francis is known as the patron saint of animals, ecology and Italy. He passed away 800 years ago on Oct. 3, 1226, but his feast day is Oct. 4. With the 800th anniversary of his death, locals will be granted a special opportunity — a pilgrimage offered at three sites in Ohio for the Diocese of Toledo, designated by Bishop Daniel Thomas through January 2027. The sites are at Portiuncula, in Sylvania; The Basilica and National Shrine of Our Lady of Consolation, in Carey; and the Motherhouse Eucharistic Chapel, on the grounds of the Sisters of St. Francis community in Tiffin. Pilgrimages are journeys with a spiritual purpose. For historians, one of the most famous pilgrimages took place in the Camino, which runs through France and northern Spain and ends at the Cathedral of St. James known as the Santiago de Compostela. "People have gone on pilgrimages for centuries," Sr. Edna Michel said. "People have experienced healing, grown in self-knowledge and endurance, and met God in fellow pilgrims and those they have encountered along the way. They will attest that making even part of that 1,500 meter journey has been life-changing." At all three sites, each visitor is able to have a passport stamped to mark the journey and getting all three stamps means having completed the local pilgrimage. Once stamped, at least at the Tiffin site, there are stops at the St. Francis Fish Pond, St. Clare at Lourdes Grotto, the Reflective Garden and the cemetery before finishing at the Blessed Sacrament Chapel at the San Damiano Cross. At the St. Francis site in Tiffin, 153 visitors have come from 45 different cities and states. The furthest a pilgrim has traveled is from St. Bruno, Canada. "The pilgrimage being offered on the St. Francis campus during this Jubilee year is much shorter," Michel said. "It has been meaningful for those who walked this designated path through the campus. With the right state of mind and heart, they gain what the Catholic Church calls a plenary indulgence." Essentially, plenary indulgence is a gifted assurance that a person's sins are forgiven due to the indulgent love and mercy of God. St. Francis is said to have shown the same mercy to those who would visit the Little Chapel of Our Lady of Angels in Assisi. On Saturday, there will be a special prayer service at 7 p.m. in the St. Francis Convent Chapel to commemorate the passing of St. Francis, known as the Transitus, which is Latin for "crossing over." The service lasts for one hour and will consist of various testimonies, prayers, songs and a cable-lighting ritual. On Sunday, the 11 a.m. Mass will celebrate the Joyous Feast of the Saint, also known as the Easter of St. Francis, and the public is invited to both events. Next Wednesday, the sisters at St. Francis in Tiffin will be taking a pilgrimage to Our Lady of Consolation in Carey. If interested in taking the Tiffin pilgrimage, visitors can take the outdoor pilgrimage from 9 a.m. to dusk. The chapel is open on Wednesdays and Sundays from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. with Mass at 11 a.m. "Pilgrims are encouraged to come to our campus," Sister Edna said. "They will find serenity, beauty and a spiritual atmosphere."