Pope Francis has instituted an annual celebration dedicated to honoring local saints, referred to as the “saints next door,” in dioceses worldwide. This initiative will commence on November 9, 2025, as part of the Jubilee Year celebrations, coinciding with the feast of the dedication of the Basilica of St. John Lateran.
The celebration focuses on recognizing individuals who have lived holy lives in their local communities, including saints, blessed, venerables, and servants of God. The Pope emphasized that this is not a new liturgical feast but a call for dioceses to create appropriate initiatives, such as special homilies or community events, to highlight these figures’ inspirational contributions.
This effort is linked to the Pope’s 2018 apostolic exhortation, Gaudete et Exsultate, which highlights the universal call to holiness in everyday life. Through this initiative, Pope Francis hopes to deepen the Church’s spiritual renewal and inspire Catholics to follow the examples of these faithful witnesses in their own lives.
For more details see Catholic News Agency: Honoring the ‘saints next door’: Pope Francis calls for annual celebration of local holy men and women
–Andrenique Rolle, Editorial Assistant at Pray Tell Blog, Saint John’s School of Theology and Seminary, contributed to this post
Please leave a reply.