This column recently noted that we celebrate this year, as citizens of the United States, the Semiquincentennial (250th) anniversary of the Declaration of Independence.
But as a universal church, we have something else to celebrate in 2026 which will hopefully compel Catholics to reflect on the principles, not of a nation, but those that God calls His followers to live out.
Recently, the Vatican’s Apostolic Penitentiary, the office tasked with matters relating to dispensations, the granting of forgiveness and the internal forum of conscience, announced another celebration to be observed in 2026. Urged by Pope Leo, it declared a Special Jubilee Year to mark the Octocentennial or 800th anniversary of the death of St. Francis of Assisi which occurred on Oct. 3, 1226.
The Church’s veneration of any saint is a reminder of our connection that endures with the holy men, women and children who have faithfully gone before us. Having lived through their own life story and responded with a life of prayer and fidelity to Christ, they have gained their heavenly reward. Even as they await the final fulfillment of the world and their own union of soul and body in the resurrection, they still know us and pray for our own lives of faith.
At the same time, they give us courage and good example by the recounting of the stories of their lives. While some saints achieve a strong local following where they lived or died, the celebration of the conclusion of St. Francis’ life gives witness to the familiarity and resonance of his life that has spread throughout the world and has endured to our own day.
Pope Leo described Francis’ example and legacy as being “strong in faith, steadfast in hope and ardent in active charity towards his neighbor.” The Apostolic Penitentiary goes even further in highlighting the relevance of St. Francis even eight centuries after his death, stating, “Our time is not very different from that in which Francis lived, and precisely in the light of this, his teaching is perhaps even more valid and understandable today. When Christian charity languishes, ignorance spreads like immorality, and those who exalt concord among peoples do so more out of selfishness than out of a sincere Christian spirit; when the virtual takes over the real, disagreements and social violence are part of everyday life, and peace becomes more insecure and distant every day, this Year of St. Francis spurs all of us, each according to our possibilities, to imitate the poor man of Assisi, to form ourselves as far as possible on the model of Christ.”
Francis was known for his embrace of poverty instead of the earthly wealth of his family. He lived a love for Jesus and especially for the poor. He was unwavering in faith and found God in all creation as reflected in his Canticle of the Sun. Prior to his death he was blessed with the stigmata joining him even more closely to Christ.
Of course, he drew others around him who shared his calling and faith, and various branches of the Franciscan family exist even today.
Here in the Diocese of Rockford we are blessed by the prayers of the Poor Clare Sisters in Corpus Christi Monastery, daughters of St. Clare, his most visible women followers. How blest we are with this element of Francis’ legacy.
In this Jubilee Year, just as in last year’s Jubilee Year of Hope, the possibility of a plenary indulgence is given to us. Because of the Poor Clare’s link to Francis, during 2026 one can obtain that full remission of the temporal punishments of sin by a pilgrimage to Corpus Christ Monastery, joined to the usual conditions for such an indulgence: the reception of Eucharistic Communion, and the sacrament of confession and prayers for the intention of the Holy Father.
May St. Francis of Assisi assist us with his prayers and his example as we confront the challenges and the joy of our own time, in many ways so similar to his own.
