Archdiocese of Cebu close Jubilee Year

CEBU, Philippines - Mass at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral at 4:30 p.m.

Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal will lead the closing ceremonies of the year-long celebration of the Archdiocese’s 75th Anniversary. Around 25 archbishops and bishops from the neighboring diocese will grace the occasion, along with priests, religious and the lay faithful.

At the end of the Mass, Vidal will lead the closing of the Holy door.

The Cebu Archdiocese opened its Jubilee Year on the same day last year, with no less than President Gloria Arroyo and other important civil and ecclesiastical dignitaries in attendance. Last year’s celebration involved the participation of delegations from the parishes.

This time, however, separate district celebrations were conducted in key parishes around the province. This allows for maximum participation of the lay faithful from parishes in the Metro Cebu area.

To cap the celebration, a cultural presentation will be held at the Cathedral patio at 8:30 p.m. showcasing Cebuano culture and the various activities that marked the Jubilee Year. Both Eucharistic celebration and cultural show are open to public.

It will be another 25 years before the Holy door is opened. Everyone who passed the Holy door will gain plenary indulgence granted by the Holy See on the occasion of the Diamond Jubilee.

A plenary indulgence means “the remission of the entire temporal punishment due to sin so that no further expiation is required in purgatory”.

An indulgence is considered plenary if it removes all the temporal punishment due to sin.

According to a Catholic website, an indulgence is a remission before God of the temporal punishment due to sins whose guilt has already been forgiven, which the faithful Christian who is duly disposed gains under certain prescribed conditions through the action of the Church, which, as the minister of redemption, dispenses and applies with authority the treasury of the satisfaction of Christ and the saints.”