2025 Year in Review: A year of Jubilee

By The Catholic Free Press

The year 2025 was a significant anniversary year for the Diocese of Worcester as it celebrated 75 years since it was established by Pope Pius XII in 1950. The diocese celebrated its 75 years with a Mass and an awards banquet among other activities including a multicultural Marian procession. With the anniversary in mind, The Catholic Free Press recalled significant anniversaries throughout the year for parishes and other groups in the diocese and published a commemorative book about the diocese’s history.

Not only was 2025 a special year for the diocese locally, but together with Catholics throughout the world, the Church celebrated the Jubilee Year of Hope opened by Pope Francis in December of 2024. As pilgrims of hope, people were encouraged to visit the 10 local pilgrimage churches designated by Bishop McManus at the beginning of the year and to participate when he made a stop to each for evening vespers. With pilgrimage being a central theme, some people traveled to the Holy Doors in Rome or went elsewhere. Jubilee years focus on God’s mercy, grace, reconciliation and, of course, in particular this year, hope.

Other significant news included the death of Pope Francis, the Monday after Easter. He had been pontiff for 12 years. The election of American-born Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost to succeed him, followed in May and he took the name Pope Leo XIV.

Locally, one priest was named a bishop. Bishop Richard F. Reidy, former vicar general and moderator of the curia for the Worcester diocese, became bishop of the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut.

The Catholic Free Press has compiled some of the other news stories from throughout the year. The compilation follows in brief below.

JANUARY
– Bishop McManus made the trip to the SEEK25 conference for East Coast college students Jan. 2-5 in Washington, D.C. Three SEEK conferences were held simultaneously by FOCUS. Students from Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Worcester State University and other local colleges were among the 3,500 who attended the sold-out D.C. conference. “To see all these young people on fire with love for Christ and the church was really, really edifying,” Bishop McManus said.

– Father Ralph Anthony DiOrio Jr., 94, referred to as the “healing priest” and founder and director of the Apostolate of Divine Mercy and Healing, passed away on Jan. 20 at Life Care Center of Auburn. He was a priest for 68 years.

– Bishop McManus and superintendent of diocesan Catholic schools, David Perda, issued statements in response to changes in federal immigration policies regarding churches and schools. On Jan. 21, the Trump administration rescinded previous guidelines in place for Immigration and Customs Enforcement and Customs and Border Protection, allowing them to make arrests at schools and churches, among other so-called “sensitive” places. In his statement, Bishop McManus asserted the fundamental dignity of all people. “This applies not only to the child in the womb ... but also migrants, refugees, the homeless and all who are facing physical and emotional distress. We are all God’s children.” In a letter sent to parents and guardians of Catholic school students, Superintendent Perda joined with other dioceses and public-school systems in expressing concern about the immigration policy changes and outlined procedures “already in place” to protect students and their personal information.    

– More than 90 people rode diocesan buses that traveled to the 52nd annual March for Life in Washington, D.C., including groups from Assumption University in Worcester and Boston Trinity Academy.

– Catholic Schools Week was celebrated Jan. 26 to Feb. 1. The theme was “United in faith and community.”

FEBRUARY
– On Feb. 12, Pope Francis appointed Msgr. Richard F. Reidy, vicar general and moderator of the curia, as the next bishop of the Diocese of Norwich, Connecticut, succeeding Bishop Emeritus Michael C. Cote.

– The Worcester City Council voted in mid-February to declare Worcester a sanctuary city for “transgender and gender diverse people.” Some topics underlying such council agenda items are of concern to the Catholic Church.

– Father Michael J. Roy, 77, of Worcester, passed away peacefully with family by his side on Feb. 21 at the Notre Dame Long Term Care and Rehabilitation Center.

– Catholic bishops called on the faithful to pray for Pope Francis, who was in critical condition in Rome’s Gemelli hospital amid a battle with respiratory illness.  

MARCH
– With gratitude, rejoicing and hope, members of the Worcester diocese celebrated its 75th anniversary March 2 with a Mass and reception at St. Paul Cathedral. Bishop McManus brought them together to thank God for their faith and the diocese’s history, traced to March 7, 1950, Msgr. Francis D. Kelly, a priest of the Worcester diocese and canon of St. Peter’s Basilica in Vatican City, said in his homily. Archbishop Richard G. Henning, archbishop of Boston, and Bishop William D. Byrne, bishop of Springfield, concelebrated the 75th anniversary Mass. Catholics representing different ethnic groups read Scripture, sang and prayed in their languages, including Spanish, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Italian, Lithuanian, Polish, French, Tagalog, Twi and Swahili, along with English.

– Following President Donald Trump’s Feb. 18 executive order aiming to expand access to in vitro fertilization and reduce out-of-pocket and health plan costs for it, the diocesan Respect Life Office provided resources for clergy to share with their parishioners regarding the Church’s teaching on IVF and how to pastorally respond to those suffering with infertility.

– Sean J. Ryan was announced March 6 as the 12th president of Anna Maria College. Mr. Ryan, who began in July, succeeded president, Mary Lou Retelle, who had led the college since 2015.

– People filled St. Paul Cathedral in Worcester March 9 for the Rite of Election and the Call to Continuing Conversion. This year, the diocesan Office of Religious Education, reported 164 catechumens and 159 candidates. They were from about 42 parishes and the College of the Holy Cross.

– Floats, vehicles and people marched down Park Avenue at this year’s 43rd Worcester County St. Patrick’s Parade. The program booklet was dedicated in memory of Bishop Daniel Patrick Reilly, fourth bishop of Worcester, along with Francis R. Carroll and Helen Hogan Donlan.

– Father Theodore R. Laperle, 100, died peacefully March 18 with family by his side at Notre Dame Long Term Care and Rehabilitation Center.

– The Diocese of Worcester’s annual Mass for Life was celebrated by Bishop McManus on March 25 at St. Paul Cathedral in Worcester. Awards were given to individuals who have shown heroic witness to the intrinsic value of each human life.

APRIL
– McAuley Nazareth Inc. in Leicester, an outgrowth of a Sisters of Mercy ministry, became officially “affiliated with” Mount Prospect Academy at 12:01 a.m. April 1. Both serve troubled youth through education and residential treatment.

– In a collaboration of Catholic institutions, the St. John’s Cemetery System dug a trench for permanent outdoor lighting at St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School.

– 950-plus people attended the 24th Worcester Diocesan Catholic Men’s Conference April 5 at the DCU Center.

– Priests celebrating significant anniversaries of ordination were recognized at the Chrism Mass April 15 at St. Paul Cathedral.

– Bishop McManus offered his prayers in union with Catholics around the world Monday “that God welcome [Pope Francis] into eternal life.” Pope Francis died at 7:35 a.m. Rome time April 21, the Vatican announced.

– The episcopal ordination and installation of Bishop Richard F. Reidy was celebrated April 29 at the Cathedral of St. Patrick in Norwich, Connecticut.  

MAY
– St. Joseph Parish in Charlton celebrated its 125th anniversary May 4, which included expressions of appreciation for God, people and parish.

– Cardinal Robert F. Prevost, the Chicago-born prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops under Pope Francis, was elected the 267th pope May 8 and took the name Pope Leo XIV.

– Bishop McManus presented religious awards to youth and adults May 3 at St. Paul Cathedral during the Diocese of Worcester Catholic Scouting Ministry Mass.

– The diocese urged parish leaders to encourage parishioners to ask legislators to support a national bill that is aimed at helping religious workers stay in the United States while awaiting green cards that attest to the fact that they are lawful permanent residents in the U.S.

– Bishop McManus officially established the Shrine of St. Andrew Bobola, attached to St. Andrew Bobola Parish in Dudley, on May 11 before a standing-room-only congregation said to have come from at least 10 states.

– Visitation House in Worcester celebrated 20 years of helping women choose life.

– The Sisters of the Presentation of the Blessed Virgin Mary announced May 29 that they had sold Presentation Convent to Clear Path for Veterans.

– More than 5,000 of 10,000 hoped-for participants attended a 10-hour, Portuguese-language Catholic conference at the DCU Center in Worcester May 31.

JUNE
– Praise and unity were themes sounded as African Catholics celebrated their silver jubilee June 1. “Today … we have professed the truth” that we believe the Church is one, holy, Catholic and apostolic, Bishop McManus said.

– As the Diocese of Worcester celebrated 75 years since its establishment in 1950, The Catholic Free Press took a look back at the events, people and places that helped shape the Catholic Church in Worcester County. A special supplement was published early this month.

– Two men were ordained to the priesthood June 7 at St. Paul Cathedral: Father Zachary T. Sullivan and Father Jonathan E. Amidon.

– A new Marian grotto, unveiled at St. Joan of Arc Parish in Worcester June 15, was dedicated to Father Walter J. Riley, who was pastor of St. Anne Parish in Shrewsbury when he died suddenly on Feb. 9, 2024. He had offered to help with St. Joan of Arc’s grotto, explained the parish’s administrator, Father Enoch K. Kyeremateng. His parishioners and Father Riley’s former parishioners – from St. Anne’s, Immaculate Conception in Worcester and St. Luke the Evangelist in Westborough – helped fund the approximately $7,000 grotto, which is all paid for.

– St. Anne and St. Patrick Parish/St. Anne Shrine in Fiskdale was a stop on a national tour of relics of St. Pio of Pietrelcina. Mass was celebrated and relics were displayed June 16 and 17.  

– Bishop McManus blessed a new columbarium at St. Mary of the Hills Parish in West Boylston, at an outdoor Mass on June 21. The granite wall with 40 niches for cremated remains is across the driveway from the church, where the St. Therese of Lisieux shrine had been.

– A new parish was formed in the Brookfields, Bishop McManus announced in a decree June 23, which took effect July 1. St. Carlo Acutis parish came from the merger of Our Lady of the Sacred Heart Parish in West Brookfield, including St. Mary Oratory in Brookfield; St. Joseph Parish in North Brookfield; and St. John the Baptist Parish in East Brookfield. Sacred Heart and St. Joseph are worship sites and their church buildings will retain their names. St. Mary’s and St. John the Baptist church buildings closed.

– Catholics and Orthodox celebrated the Jubilee, the anniversary of the diocese, and the Council of Nicaea, June 29 at ecumenical vespers at St. Paul Cathedral.

JULY
– St. Boniface Parish in Lunenburg, the first new parish created by Bishop John J. Wright in the Diocese of Worcester celebrated its 75th anniversary.  

– Father Thomas H. Hultquist, 76, senior priest in residence at St. George Parish in Worcester, passed away July 12 at Notre Dame Healthcare in Worcester.

– Serving and strengthening families: Pernet Family Health Service celebrated 70 years.
– Father Thomas F. Egan, 82, of Worcester, former pastor of Holy Family of Nazareth Parish in Leominster, died July 18 after a brief illness.

– St. Anne Parish in Shrewsbury celebrated its 75th jubilee July 26 – the feast of its patroness and St. Joachim, the parents of the Virgin Mary – with Mass and dinner. Archbishop Michael W. Banach, apostolic nuncio to Hungary, celebrated the anniversary Mass and seven priests concelebrated.

– Rome became the heart of the world’s Catholic youth during the Jubilee of Youth held July 28-Aug. 3 – a key moment in the Jubilee Year of Hope. Deacon Rafael Longhini was present in Rome for the gathering, which brought together more than one million young people from the five continents and about 146 countries. He served the closing Mass with Pope Leo.

AUGUST
– The Trappist monks of St. Joseph’s Abbey in Spencer, live a contemplative life of prayer and work – and they have been doing so for 200 years – 75 of those years in the town of Spencer. On Aug. 1, a Jubilee Mass was celebrated on the 50th anniversary of the dedication of the Abbey church.  

– Worcester Catholics were among those calling for nuclear disarmament through commemorations of the 80th anniversary of the United States atomic bombings in Japan – in Hiroshima Aug. 6 and Nagasaki Aug. 9.

– The Italian Festival of Our Lady of Mount Carmel and Our Lady of Loreto Parish in Worcester was focused on faith – and brought the parish community and others together Aug. 14-17 with more than 6,500 admissions.

– Father Richard A. Fortin, 91, passed away peacefully in Notre Dame Long Term Care Center on Friday, Aug. 22.

– John D. Kelleher had been in Korea just five days when he was wounded in battle and subsequently died. The St. Peter’s High School graduate was 19 years old. Seventy-five years later, dozens of people gathered on Aug. 24 with his family for the dedication of a monument on the corner of June St. and Hartshorn Ave., where he grew up.

– Bishop McManus blessed a newly created chapel of Divine Mercy in a classroom of the old St. Stephen school building in Worcester Aug. 21, and expressed appreciation that religious items from elsewhere were used for it.

– The annual Partners in Charity appeal came to a close Aug. 31 with a reported 91% of the $5 million dollar goal met. The theme of this year’s appeal was “Sharing the Gift of Hope.”

SEPTEMBER
 – St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School’s gymnasium gained a new, improved look this month. For the first time since St. Peter-Marian Central Catholic Jr./Sr. High School and Holy Name Central Catholic Jr./Sr. High School merged and formed St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School on the former Holy Name campus in the fall of 2020, championship banners from the two merged schools adorned the gym walls.

– Young people, parents and priests were among those celebrating locally the canonization of Sts. Carlo Acutis and Pier Giorgio Frassati, the two young men whom Pope Leo XIV named saints on Sept. 7.  

– To help support evangelization, Catholic schools, seminarians, and retired priests, the diocese hired a permanent, full-time director of major gifts, Tina Marie Anderson, who started Sept. 2.

– St. John, Guardian of Our Lady Parish’s 175th anniversary celebration took place in the church, and outside St. John’s gym in Clinton Sept. 14.

– Father James A. Houston, 84, passed away peacefully on Wednesday, Sept.17, at Oasis at Dodge Park in Worcester.

– A Sept. 24 decree from Bishop McManus announced that Holy Spirit Church at 50 Lovewell St. in Gardner was to close Oct. 1.

– For the Jubilee Year of Hope and 75th anniversary of the Worcester diocese, an annual procession and Mass honoring the Blessed Mother was expanded Sept. 20. Joining people from the United States and Portuguese-speaking and Spanish-speaking countries this year were representatives of Haiti, Vietnam, Poland, Lithuania, and African countries. Bishop McManus, a few clergymen and more than 250 people processed up Main Street to St. Paul Cathedral.

– The importance of service was highlighted at the 2025 Parish Ministry Awards Banquet Sept. 26 at the DCU Center in Worcester. It was part of the diocese’s celebration of its 75th anniversary and of the Jubilee Year of Hope. Awards were given to honor 94 volunteers or groups from 27 parishes.

– About 370 participants came from Massachusetts and neighboring states for worship, talks, fellowship, and visiting of exhibitors’ tables, at the Worcester Catholic Women’s Conference Sept. 27 at St. Joseph School in Webster.

OCTOBER
– Lithuanians whose ancestors founded Our Lady of Vilna Parish in Worcester joined the Vietnamese community now worshipping there in celebrating the parish’s 100th anniversary Oct. 5.

–  About 175 runners and walkers took part in the first-ever KnightMare 5K to support St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School and a student battling leukemia Oct. 25.

– The St. Thomas More Society of Worcester County honored four individuals in the legal field at its 67th annual Red Mass on Oct. 26 at St. Paul Cathedral in Worcester.  

– Local food pantries, charities braced for the disruption of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)  following the government shutdown.

– 22 couples attended the diocesan Wedding Anniversary Mass that Bishop McManus celebrated Oct. 26 at St. Paul Cathedral. The couples celebrated a collective 888 years of marriage.

– 23 grants were awarded locally Oct. 27, totaling $45,000, from the annual Catholic Campaign for Human Development.

– The 12th annual Celebrate Priesthood! Taste of the Diocese Gala, to thank priests and raise money for their retirement needs, took place on Oct. 30 at St. Paul Jr./Sr. High School in Worcester. This year $350,000 was raised  with about 1,800 gifts of support.

NOVEMBER
– Notre Dame Church at 446 Main St. in Southbridge partially closed Nov. 8, due to structural damage on the facade, on the south elevation of the building that could pose a safety risk. All weekend Masses and main liturgies were transferred to St. Mary Church at 247 Hamilton St., two blocks away.

– The Diocesan Youth Rally, held Nov. 9 at Anna Maria College, drew approximately 250 teenagers and 50 adult leaders from more than 30 parishes.

– Bishop Mark J. Seitz, bishop of the Diocese of El Paso, Texas, and chairman of the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops’ Committee on Migration, spoke Nov. 6 at the College of the Holy Cross about “God, Migration and the Struggle for Human Dignity.”  The next day, he encouraged those joining the “Interfaith Witness for Migrants and Refugees” that the Holy Cross Chaplain’s Office organized.

– The St. Vincent Community Healthcare Fund Committee announced that it had awarded 29 grants totaling $104,459.

_ Bishop McManus led a pilgrimage to Rome for nine days.

– The Guild of Our Lady of Providence celebrated its 75th anniversary this year, like the Diocese of Worcester that it serves. Bishop John J. Wright established the Guild to help St. Vincent Hospital.

DECEMBER
– The Adopt-A-Student Recognition Reception was held Dec. 4 at St. Paul Diocesan Jr./Sr. High School. The recognition reception is a night for celebrating students, schools and supporters. A total of $150,000 is being applied to the tuition of the Adopt-A-Student scholars during the present school year.