Year of Prayer

Pope Francis has declared this year as a Year of Prayer for the Catholic Church as a lead up to the great Jubilee Year to be held in 2025. In preparation for the Jubilee, dioceses around the world are invited to promote initiatives to remind people of the centrality of both individual prayer and community prayer.

“Today we begin the Year of Prayer, a year dedicated to rediscovering the great value and absolute need for prayer in personal life, in the life of the Church, and in the world. Let us renew every day the joy and commitment to be men and women of prayer. Prayer that comes from the heart”.

This Year of Prayer in particularly apt at this time in the world. Fr Jacques Philippe writes that it is “prayer that will give birth to all renewal in society and the world” … the most useful thing the church can do today is to give people a thirst for prayer and teach them how to pray”. This year of prayer is an opportune time for dioceses and parishes around the world to do this.

The Bishop’s Pastoral Office has prepared resources to help parishes, schools and other communities with ideas about how to celebrate the Year of Prayer. There will also be diocesan events throughout the year.