Dear Parishioners

As we begin this new year of 2026, Archbishop Mitchell T. Rozanski has announced that, our Archdiocese will be celebrating a Jubilee Year. This year is the 200th anniversary of the establishment of the Diocese of St Louis on July 18, 1826. On January 1, 2026, on the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Mother of God, we begin a sacred year of reflection, celebration, and renewal as we journey toward the two hundredth anniversary of our diocese.

Our region’s Catholic heritage dates back more than 350 years with the earliest missionary encounters in the Mississippi Valley. In 1764, St. Louis was founded and celebrated the first Mass on the site where the Old Cathedral now stands. In 1818, Bishop Dubourg chose St. Louis as the episcopal seat of the new frontier Church. When Pope Leo XII established the Diocese of St. Louis in 1826, Bishop Joseph Rosati was entrusted with a vast mission territory that extended from the Louisiana border to the Rocky Mountains, encompassing lands newly acquired through the Louisiana Purchase and parts of the Illinois Territory.

On July 18, 1826, Pope Leo XII divided the Diocese of Louisiana and the Two Floridas. One of the new dioceses was the Diocese of St. Louis, which included Missouri along with vast areas of the American Midwest and Great Plains. Because of its size, the diocese was often referred to as the Rome of the West. Leo XII named Joseph Rosati as the first bishop of St. Louis.

This Jubilee Year invites us to honor the past, celebrate the present, and commit ourselves anew to the mission of Christ. Special initiatives, moments of prayer, pilgrimages, and parish celebrations throughout the year will help deepen our communion, renew our missionary zeal, and strengthen the bonds that unite us as one Church.

In honor of this historic milestone, the Holy See, through the Apostolic Penitentiary, has graciously granted a plenary indulgence, under the usual conditions, to the truly penitent and devout Christian faithful. This indulgence, available through July 26, 2026, is a beautiful gift of God’s mercy, inviting us to deeper conversion and renewed holiness. To receive this grace, the faithful may visit several sacred sites that have been designated as pilgrimage locations: Please visit www.ArchSTL200.org to learn more about pilgrimage sites, the conditions for receiving the indulgence, and the special provisions for the sick and homebound.

And may this Bicentennial Jubilee be a time of profound gratitude, spiritual renewal, and missionary joy for all the faithful of the Archdiocese of St. Louis.

Christmas & New Year Blessings,

Msgr John Shamleffer