By Katie Vasquez
It was an evening of prayer and song as hundreds of youth and young adults filled the Cathedral-Basilica of St. James in Brooklyn for a holy hour to mark the start of the 2025 Jubilee.
The holy year of faith and fellowship is meant to inspire Catholics around the globe to grow their relationship with Christ, and it’s making an impact on young parishioners within the Diocese of Brooklyn.
“Jesus is present there because otherwise, I wouldn’t. I wouldn’t feel that kind of love and that kind of peace,” Mariana Juarez, a parishioner at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary church who attended the holy hour at St. James tells Currents News. It’s “strengthening our relationship through confession, acknowledging our sins.”
Leading the night of benediction of the Blessed Sacrament in Brooklyn was Bishop Robert Brennan, who hopes that being in front of the Body of Christ will inspire these young Catholics in the coming months.
“Where we go in our need and in our desperation matters, and they’re helping to show that by their example what it means to go to the Lord,” he explains.
The Jubilee event also saw testimonies from young people about their own journey of faith.
“It was beautiful because I thought that I was the only one suffering,” Janice Umana, a parishioner at Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary church who was also at the holy hour, says. “I don’t have the faith that I should. I say I do, but deep down, I don’t.”
Now, the youth who were present feel inspired to make Jubilee year resolutions.
“Praying more than before is what I’m trying to do,” says Juarez.
The Diocese of Brooklyn prays this night will further call them to share their newly renewed faith with the world.
“It’s one thing for the bishop, for priests, for their parents to speak about their faith,” says Father James Kuroly, the director of youth and young adult ministry in the Diocese of Brooklyn. “It’s another thing when they hear somebody who is really journeying with them, who really knows what it means to to be a young person in the Church.”
“They’re like the yeast in the bread,” adds Bishop Brennan. “They’re planting something that’s catching on and and their faith and their enthusiasm spurs on, inspires a sense of hope in so many of us.”