On the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ (December 29, 2024), the celebration of the opening of the Jubilee Year took place in our local Church – the Eparchy of Bratislava. This solemn opening was held based on the decree of the Holy Father Francis, who, in the Bull proclaiming the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025 (no. 6), instructed diocesan (eparchial) bishops to celebrate the Holy Eucharist in their cathedrals and to open the Jubilee Year in their local churches precisely on this Sunday, December 29.

On this occasion, the Decree of the Eparchial Bishop of Bratislava, Vladyka Peter Rusnák, was read, designating the Jubilee Sacred Sites in the Eparchy of Bratislava for the Jubilee Year 2025.

We present this decree in its full text:

JUBILEE SACRED SITES IN THE EPARCHY OF BRATISLAVA

DECREE

In this historic moment, on May 9, 2024, the Feast of the Ascension of the Lord, the Holy Father Francis proclaimed the Bull Spes non confundit, announcing the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025, which will begin with the opening of the Holy Door at the Papal Basilica of Saint Peter in Rome on December 24, 2024.

Following the decision of the Supreme Pontiff, to celebrate the opening of the Jubilee of 2025 in unity with the whole Church on Sunday, December 29, 2024, the Sunday after the Nativity of Christ, I invite the faithful of the Eparchy of Bratislava to the Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross, where the solemn Divine Liturgy for the opening of the Jubilee of 2025 will be celebrated in our eparchy. As the Eparchial Bishop of Bratislava, I will grant the Papal Blessing, accompanied by a plenary indulgence, to all present faithful.

On May 13, 2024, the Apostolic Penitentiary issued the Norms on the Granting of Indulgences during the Ordinary Jubilee of 2025. According to these norms, in addition to the designated Jubilee Sacred Sites in Rome and other places worldwide, the local ordinary should designate “sacred places of reception and privileged spaces for the birth of hope” (Spes non confundit) for the benefit of the faithful, where pilgrims of hope may obtain the Jubilee indulgences granted by the Holy Father.

Based on these guidelines and the intention of the Holy Father, I hereby

establish

that from December 29, 2024, to December 28, 2025, throughout the Jubilee Year 2025, the following will be Jubilee Sacred Sites in the Eparchy of Bratislava:

The Cathedral of the Exaltation of the Holy Cross in Bratislava

The Parish Church of Saints Cyril and Methodius in Trenčín

The Parish Church of the Nativity of the Most Holy Theotokos in Žilina

The Parish Church of the Most Holy Trinity in Telgárt

The faithful may obtain Jubilee indulgences if they make a pious pilgrimage to any designated Jubilee Sacred Site and devoutly participate in the Jubilee Divine Liturgy, the celebration of the Word of God, the Liturgy of the Hours, the Way of the Cross, the Rosary, the Akathist Hymn, or the Rite of Reconciliation;

or if they devoutly visit one of the Jubilee sites, individually or in groups, making the sign of the cross with holy water as a sign of baptism and repentance upon entry, reading a passage from the Word of God, praying the Jubilee Year prayer, then spending time in Eucharistic adoration and meditation, concluding with the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, a prayer to the Virgin Mary, Mother of God, and a prayer for the Holy Father’s intentions.

Additionally, the faithful may obtain Jubilee indulgences if, in a spirit of devotion, they perform acts of mercy and penance; visit brothers and sisters in need or distress; observe a day of fasting in a spirit of repentance; donate a suitable amount to the poor; support religious or social works; or dedicate part of their free time to volunteer activities for the benefit of the community or other similar forms of personal engagement.

The faithful who, for serious reasons, cannot participate in the solemn celebrations and live in a state of true repentance will obtain Jubilee indulgences under the same conditions if they unite spiritually with the present faithful, especially through the means of communication, reciting the Lord’s Prayer, the Creed, and other prayers in accordance with the intentions of the Holy Year from their homes or wherever they are hindered, offering their sufferings or life’s difficulties.

I believe that the upcoming Jubilee of 2025 will be a time of grace for our local Church, renewing Christian hope and fostering an intimate relationship with our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom belong praise and glory, now and forever. Amen.

Given in Bratislava, at the seat of the Eparchy, on November 20, 2024, the Forefeast of the Entry of the Most Holy Theotokos into the Temple, ref. no.: 256/2024.

Vladyka Peter Rusnák

Eparchial Bishop