What began has a Jubilee Year of Hope program at the Shrine of St. Anthony will become a regular offering at the Ellicott City, MD site.
The Shrine offered four Franciscan Pilgrimages of Hope in 2025, each program offering an opportunity for an extended tour of the Shrine, time for Confession and Mass, and an afternoon activity related to the day’s theme.
“These pilgrimages of hope have had a wonderful response and have revealed a true hunger in the people of our local community,” said Friar Gary Johnson, OFM Conv. “By coming to our Shrine during the Jubilee of Hope people are honoring the necessity not only to think holy thoughts but to come to a holy location, to literally walk the way of holiness at our Shrine and campus.”
The Shrine’s resident tour guide, Ray Glennon, OFS, designed and implemented Franciscan Pilgrimages of Hope at the Shrine in response to +Pope Francis’s declaration of 2025 as the Jubilee Year of Hope.
More than 40 pilgrims attended each, with the most popular event in August. More than 100 pilgrims visited the Shrine over two days in which the pilgrimage of hope was offered. The theme of that tour was the life and ministry of St. Maximillian Kolbe, OFM Conv. (Feast Day of August 14). The Shrine of St. Anthony has a relic of St. Maximillian Kolbe and an open-air shrine to the Franciscan saint.
Pilgrimages of Hope for 2026 have already been scheduled. Participation is capped at 50 pilgrims for each event. Interested pilgrims can register on the Shrine website.
- A Light in the Dark
- Saturday, March 28, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- Theme: St. Clare of Assisi
- Finding Hope That’s Been Lost
- Saturday, June 6, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. OR Tuesday, June 9, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- Theme: St. Anthony of Padua
- Hope From Out Mother
- Saturday, August 15, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. *There will be a Mass for the Assumption at 12 p.m.
- Theme: St. Maximillian Kolbe
- Rebuild My Church
- Saturday, October 3, 9:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m.
- Theme: San Damiano Cross and St. Francis’s Call
The Shrine of St. Anthony welcomes thousands of visitors every year and is a place where pilgrims can find peace and healing. The Shrine is also home to the most significant relic of St. Anthony of Padua in North America. Every Tuesday, Daily Mass attendees receive a special blessing with the relic from the presiding friar.