The Jubilee Year of Hope, observed from December 2024 through December 2025, is drawing Catholic pilgrims from around the world to celebrate the diversity and unity of the universal Church. From April 28 to 30, the Vatican hosted a Jubilee event dedicated to persons with disabilities and members of the Deaf community.
More than 10,000 participants registered for the three-day celebration, which included the Sacrament of Reconciliation with priests trained to serve individuals with disabilities, as well as opportunities for Eucharistic Adoration. The gathering promoted inclusion and affirmed the dignity and contributions of all members of the Church.
The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington joined the Jubilee celebrations in Rome with a delegation of 22 pilgrims. They traveled alongside 14 others from Dublin, Ireland, for a 10-day pilgrimage throughout Italy. The group arrived in Rome during the sede vacante, following the death of Pope Francis, and gathered with thousands in St. Peter’s Square to pray the rosary.
Originally, the group planned to attend the canonization of Blessed Carlo Acutis on April 27. Due to the change in circumstances and postponement of that canonization, they visited the Catacombs of St. Priscilla instead, where Father Patrick Mullan, who served as the group’s chaplain, celebrated their first Mass. During their visit, they also encountered fellow pilgrims from Toronto.
On April 28, the group visited the Church of San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini, where the Sacrament of Reconciliation was offered in multiple sign languages and with accommodations for pilgrims with cognitive and physical disabilities. The pilgrims then walked through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica. That evening, they attended Mass at the Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls celebrated by Archbishop Rino Fisichella, pro-prefect of the Vatican’s Dicastery for Evangelization. Father Mullan was among the concelebrants.
The following day included catechesis led by Archbishop Fisichella and testimonies shared in St. Peter’s Square. Later, the group attended a festival in the gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo, celebrating the lives and witness of persons who are Deaf or living with disabilities. That afternoon, they participated in the fourth Requiem Mass of the Novemdiales for Pope Francis, celebrated by Cardinal Mauro Gambetti, archpriest of St. Peter’s Basilica. Father Mullan again concelebrated the liturgy.
On Wednesday, Deaf Catholics from around the world gathered at San Giovanni Battista dei Fiorentini for an international liturgy recognizing the contributions of the Deaf community in the Church. Testimonies were shared by a married couple from Italy, siblings from Mexico, a Deaf Jesuit priest from England, and a Deafblind religious sister from Germany.
Father Mullan and other priests concelebrated the liturgy. Laureen Lynch-Ryan, coordinator of Deaf Ministry for the Archdiocese of Washington, proclaimed the first reading. Following the liturgy, international Deaf pilgrims processed through the Holy Door at St. Peter’s Basilica, led by Archbishop Fisichella. Luis Figuero, a parishioner of St. Francis of Assisi Deaf Catholic Church in Landover Hills, Maryland, carried the Jubilee Cross during the procession down the Via della Conciliazione.
The group continued their pilgrimage with a tour of Rome, including a visit to the Basilica of St. Mary Major, where they visited the tomb of Pope Francis. Father Mullan celebrated Mass at the basilica. The pilgrims then traveled to Assisi to mark the birthday of Blessed Carlo Acutis. For pilgrims from St. Francis of Assisi Deaf Catholic Church, the visit offered a moment of reflection and connection.
The journey concluded in Orvieto, the site of a Eucharistic Miracle. There, the group participated in a closing Mass at the Cathedral of the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, where the Eucharistic relic is preserved.
Like other Jubilee pilgrimages, the experience reflected the Church’s teaching that all baptized persons are equal members of the Body of Christ, each called to participate according to their ability, as outlined in Canon 208 of the Code of Canon Law of the Catholic Church.
Church leaders emphasized that inclusion is a responsibility, not an exception, and that full participation in Church life should be considered ordinary. They noted that the term “special” can unintentionally imply separation.
Pope Francis once said, “There is widespread attention to disability in its physical, mental and sensory form.” He added, “While the Church was becoming more welcoming, our communities are still struggling to practice true inclusion and full participation in ways that are ‘ordinary.’”
Leaders noted that such inclusion begins with a culture of welcome — a community where all are recognized as children of God.
Now back in Washington, the pilgrims hope the spirit of inclusion they experienced in Rome will continue to grow in parishes throughout the archdiocese and beyond.
Those who would like to learn more about this ministry, or who are seeking ways to ensure their own parishes are inclusive and welcoming to persons with disabilities and members of the Deaf community, may contact the Archdiocese of Washington’s Office of Deaf and Disabilities Ministries.
(Mary O’Meara serves as the executive director of the Office of Deaf and Disabilities Ministry of The Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Washington.)
