Archdiocese of New York Auxiliary Bishop Edmund J. Whalen, vicar for clergy, will lead a prayer service following a Jubilee Year of Hope Pilgrimage procession from East Harlem to St. Patrick’s Cathedral on Sunday, September 28.
Bishop Whalen will welcome the pilgrims at the cathedral after the walk by the faithful from East 106th Street at Second Avenue, traveling south on Second Avenue then west to Fifth Avenue between 50th and 51st streets. The participants will begin gathering at 1:30 p.m. at the meeting point and start the procession at 2 p.m., organizers said.
At the gathering and during the procession, pilgrims, clergy, and nuns will be praying, reading Scripture, and singing praise and worship songs in Spanish and English. The service at the cathedral will also be bilingual.
East Harlem’s St. Cecilia/Holy Agony, St. Ann/St. Lucy, and St. Paul/Holy Rosary parishes are organizing the event. St. Patrick’s Cathedral is one of eight archdiocesan Jubilee Year pilgrimage destinations, designated by Cardinal Timothy Dolan.
Pilgrims may obtain plenary indulgences
Organizers invite the faithful to “become a pilgrim and hope,” by taking the opportunity to renew their faith and “participate in a moment of grace.”
They note the Church’s Jubilee Year of Hope 2025 call to obtain plenary indulgences by detachment from all sin, even venial, asking God to explicitly take away any affection for sin you might be treasuring; sacramental Confession; Holy Communion; and praying for the intentions of the pope (an Our Father and a Hail Mary are suggested).
“A beautiful sign of unity and faith”
Eva Coper, one of the procession’s organizers, is eager to participate in the event. She noted to The Good Newsroom that when Pope Francis declared the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope, “he reminded us that hope is not merely optimism,” it is a gift from God, awaiting for something already given, such as salvation in God’s love; the pope encouraged Christians to cultivate this hope actively. Coper said her role in the event will include reading the Litany of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
“The Pilgrimage of Hope on September 28 is a beautiful sign of unity and faith. Walking together from East Harlem to St. Patrick’s Cathedral reminds us that the Church is not closed in on itself, but is a community on the move — a people journeying together with our struggles, our dreams, and our hope,” said Father D’Angelo Jimenez, pastor of St. Ann/St. Lucy. “It shows that hope belongs to everyone — immigrants, families, young people, the elderly, all who long for a better and more just future.”
In the Archdiocese of New York, a number of gatherings and pilgrimages have been held in honor of the Jubilee Year of Hope, which ends January 6, 2026. The papal decree encouraged regional pilgrimages to cathedrals and other sacred places where indulgences may be obtained.