RANDOM Things #003: Jubilee Rambling

Okay, so, apart from posts to mark the death of Pope Francis and the election of Pope Leo XIV, I haven’t posted anything to this blog since the start of January 2025.

My first Broken Bay Pilgrim Stamp to be collected in the 'Jubilee Pilgrim Passport', featuring St John Vianney.

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This is mostly down to the year, for me, starting with a “sort of” setback which left me in a disoriented state for the first quarter of the year, or so, and not well disposed to doing anything particularly creative in the direction of new artwork. Nor did I feel it worthwhile to post anything about my father and I visiting the Sydney Bus Museum in Leichhardt for one of their open days, or our second visit to Hunter Valley Steamfest in Maitland either, or attending the 2025 Hunter Valley Airshow.

Inspecting the Riley Brothers Bus at the Sydney Bus Museum, Leichhardt, NSW.

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What has been occupying my attention, after a brainstorming session of possibilities with my mother, has been planning, mapping, testing, organizing, promoting, and leading Young Adult (18–35) Pilgrimages to the four Jubilee Shrines of Hope in the Diocese of Broken Bay for the 2025 Jubilee Year of Hope:

• St Mary Immaculate Manly – Shrine of Hope for Priests and Vocations.
• Our Lady of Dolours Chatswood – Shrine of Hope for Young People.
• St Patrick’s and the Shrine of JPII East Gosford – Shrine of Hope for Families.
• Our Lady of the Rosary Cathedral Hornsby (Waitara) – Cathedral of the Diocese of Broken Bay.

Viewing the relic of St John Vianney at St Mary Immaculate Church in Manly, NSW.

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​The whole effort was started, for the most part, because I didn’t expect anyone else to try and do something Young Adult-focused at a Diocesan–wide level for the Year of Jubilee, and because the Diocese itself had a reshuffle of ministry appointments and parish placements such that the former monthly Young Adult gatherings of previous years were dropped from the calendar without ceremony. For all appearances curial priorities had changed and if anything was going to happen Young Adult-wise it would have to be a self-initiated, grassroots affair, which I threw myself into with far more effort and emotion than strictly necessary. These pilgrimages are meant to give my fellow peers an opportunity for pilgrimage during this Year of Jubilee who aren’t able due to financial or familial circumstances to go overseas on pilgrimage to Rome like many others are doing. The four pilgrimages are spaced out to be once every second month to aid in giving a sense of the Jubilee truly being a year-long event and not just a blink-and-you-miss-it four-weekend marathon done-and-dusted, don’t-need-to-think-about-it-again situation.

Pilgrims sitting before the Perpetual Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament in Our Lady of Dolours Chatswood.

Detail of the relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis, kept on the left of the Perpetual Adoration Chapel.

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It is a moot point as to whether a four-weekend marathon mightn’t have been a better draw card for the intended audience, given that there have been only a handful of pilgrims turn up for both the first pilgrimage to Manly in March for the relic of St John Vianney and the second to Chatswood in May to visit the relic of Blessed Carlo Acutis. It’s depressing when spur-of-the-moment picnics and such get higher turnout from young adults than the thing that’s had so much blood, tears, and effort poured into it to give them an opportunity to gain the Year of Jubilee Indulgence and a reduction of a chunk of our time in Purgatory currently accrued to each of us individually — and that is worthwhile! ¹

I have to regularly remind myself that these pilgrimages aren’t a “me”–thing, they are from and for God — He’s the one who sparked the whole idea of organizing these walks — for purposes that only He knows the end result of, I’m just here to organise them. If even only one person shows up, that pilgrimage was successful.

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If you or anyone you know would like to join along for next two pilgrimages, the dates are as follows:

• 26 July 2025 – St John Paul II Pilgrimage to St Patrick’s and the Shrine of JPII East Gosford.
• 13 September 2025 – Our Lady of the Rosary Pilgrimage to the Cathedral.

— Draft promotionals --

These walks are open to all pilgrims from surround Dioceses and not just the Diocese of Broken Bay, and starting with the St John Paul II Pilgrimage they will be opened up to all interested pilgrims from 18 years old to retirement. Keep on the lookout for further details and Facebook Event pages about each walk from myself on Facebook or here on the blog. I hope to see you there.


Vincent Cavanagh
9 June 2025

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​¹ The Jubilee Indulgence is explained in an accessible and down-to-earth way to all by Bishop of Wilcannia-Forbes Columba Macbeth-Green in the video linked below:

And in other news:
I have turned OFF comments on all my blog posts, apart from those made by verifiable human beings, due to an influx of spam e-mail / robot comments over the past year.
Moving forward I will be keeping the comments on this blog CLOSED until further notice. Thank you.