(ANS – Hong Kong) – 2025 is a year filled with sacred significance. The Universal Church will celebrate a solemn occasion – the Ordinary Jubilee, commemorating the 2,025th anniversary of the birth of our Saviour. For this Jubilee, Pope Francis chose the profound theme, “Pilgrims of Hope.” At the same time, for us, Chinese Catholics, 2025 holds another special grace: in this year, we celebrate the Silver Jubilee of the canonization of the 120 Martyr Saints of China (2000-2025).
The convergence of these two jubilees in the same year is no mere coincidence, but rather a gentle and powerful invitation from heaven. It invites us to deeply meditate on the supernatural virtue of “Hope” and to find, in the lives of our ancestors in faith – the Martyr Saints of China – a model for living out that hope. They are the most supreme and brilliant reflection of “Pilgrims of Hope.”
The Jubilee: A Pilgrimage of Hope
In the tradition of the Church, a Jubilee is a “Holy Year” held periodically, a time of extraordinary grace, forgiveness, and reconciliation granted by God. The word “pilgrim” paints a vivid picture: a group of people leaving their comfortable homes, embarking on a journey toward a sacred destination. Every one of us Christians, from the moment of our baptism, has already set out on this pilgrimage, walking the road back to our Father’s heavenly home.
This road is not always smooth. Our world is often plagued by the shadows of war, social division, personal illness, and inner turmoil. In such times, “hope” becomes exceptionally precious. However, the “Hope” that the Church proclaims is not the secular sense of optimistic conjecture, a mere “I wish it were so,” nor is it an empty psychological comfort. It is a “supernatural virtue” personally infused into our souls by God. The Compendium of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, in article 387, provides us with a clear definition: “Hope is the theological virtue by which we desire and await from God eternal life as our happiness, placing our trust in Christ’s promises and relying on the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit to merit it and to persevere to the end of our earthly life.”
Therefore, “Pilgrims of Hope” are people who, with a firm longing for eternal life, trusting in the promises of Christ, and accompanied by the Holy Spirit, walk the journey of life. Whether in favorable or adverse times, their gaze is always fixed on their eternal homeland.
The Martyr Saints of China: The Ultimate Witnesses of Hope
On October 1, the Feast Day of St. Teresa of Lisieux, patron saint of the Missions, at the height of the Great Jubilee of the Millennium, Pope St. John Paul II canonized 120 Chinese Martyrs, an invaluable gift from God to the Chinese Church. These 120 saints include bishops, priests, religious sisters, catechists, and laypeople – men and women, old and young, spanning from the beginning of the Ching dynasty to the 19th year of the Republic of China (1930) and in 10 different provinces in China. Our Salesian missionaries, Bishop Luigi Versiglia and Fr. Callisto Caravario, who on their pastoral visit died for the protection of 3 young girls from the pirates at the Lai Tau Tsui, Shiu Chow, Kwangtung Province in 1930, were among the 120 canonized blessed martyrs. Their stories are the most vivid and complete interpretation of the definition of “Hope” found in the Compendium.
Why were they able to face severe torture, humiliation, and even death without fear? Because their desire for “eternal life” far surpassed their attachment to this earthly life. Why did they remain steadfast when faced with the temptation to renounce their faith to save their lives? Because they “trusted in Christ’s promises,” deeply believing that after a brief period of suffering would come eternal glory with the Lord. Where did their strength come from? It came precisely from “the help of the grace of the Holy Spirit,” which enabled them to live out supernatural courage at the limits of human endurance.
The word “martyr” originally means “witness.” With their own blood, they bore the most eloquent witness to Christ’s resurrection and the promise of eternal life. Their life’s journey was a condensed and intense pilgrimage, whose destination was not an earthly temple, but the heavenly Jerusalem. Therefore, as we celebrate this Jubilee, revisiting their deeds helps us understand what it truly means to be a “Pilgrim of Hope.”
Conclusion: Living as Pilgrims of Hope in the Present
The double Jubilee of 2025 invites each of us to reflect: Is my life a journey toward our heavenly home? In my daily life, in the challenges of family, work, and society, do I hold a “desire and awaiting” for eternal life? Do I truly “trust in Christ’s promises,” believing that He is in control even when I see no way out? Do I frequently “rely on the help of the Holy Spirit,” drawing strength through prayer and the sacraments?
We may not be called to shed our blood in “red martyrdom” as the saints did, but we experience “white martyrdom” every day – making sacrifices to uphold our faith amidst secular values, and enduring misunderstanding and rejection for the sake of love and truth. On this pilgrimage, the Martyr Saints of China are our best guides and companions. Let us pray for their intercession and imitate their example, so that with steadfast hope, we may walk well the pilgrimage of our generation, and at the journey’s end, gather with them and all the saints in heaven to share in eternal joy.