Two pilgrimage sites declared for year of St. Francis

By DAWN PROSSER
Director of Communications
 
Pope Leo XIV declared a Jubilee Year for St. Francis of Assisi upon the 800^th anniversary of the saint’s death. The year began on Jan. 10 and will end Jan. 10, 2027. As part of the observance, the diocese has selected two pilgrimage sites with a connection to the saint or under his patronage – Our Lady of Grace Chapel at Briar Cliff University in Sioux City and St. Francis of Assisi Church in Rockwell City, part of Our Lady of the Plains Parish.
 
In a memo to the diocesan priests last week, Father Andrew Galles, director of worship, outlined the requirements to receive a plenary indulgence during the jubilee year:
 

• Receive the sacrament of reconciliation 20 days before or after a pilgrimage visit.
• Participation in Mass, receiving the Eucharist.
• Make a pilgrimage to any Franciscan church or site dedicated to St. Francis. During this visit, a pilgrim will recite the creed.
• Recite the Lord’s Prayer
• Pray for the Holy Father’s intentions

 The director of worship pointed out that many of the faithful have a devotion to St. Francis due to his extraordinary life and deep faith.
 
“St. Francis continues to fascinate us 800 years after his death because of his holy life and his zealous life of poverty so that he could become rich in Christ,” he said. “Devotion to St. Francis is important and remains popular not only because of his beautiful relationship with God’s creation, but because of how he embodied Christ’s very Passion in his body through stigmata and his inspiring words of devotion and reverence for the holy Eucharist.”
 
The Year of St. Francis will provide opportunities for the faithful for pilgrimages within the diocese and special opportunities for prayer and living the Catholic faith.
 
“This is a special year and opportunity in which we can make pilgrimages to both these sites and obtain the special indulgence through our works and prayers,” Father Galles said. “It is a great way to live out these little aspects of Catholicism in our daily lives and recognize the universality of the church. It is also a wonderful spiritual exercise for the domestic church, in which we live out the faith within our families and homes.”
 
Leadership at each pilgrimage site is excited to welcome the faithful to their worship spaces both during the Year of St. Francis or any time of the year.
 
Our Lady of Grace
“It is with great joy that the church receives the Jubilee of St. Francis inaugurated by Pope Leo XIV in recognition of the 800^th anniversary of the death and transitus of St. Francis to heaven,” said Father Travis Crotty, Briar Cliff University chaplain and diocesan director of vocations. “The community of Briar Cliff is privileged to welcome pilgrims to come visit the chapel of Our Lady of Grace, which has been designated as one of the two jubilee sites for pilgrimage in the Diocese of Sioux City.”
 

Our Lady of Grace Chapel at Briar Cliff University

The chaplain and Dr. Michael Horka, director of campus ministry for Briar Cliff, shared that the chapel was designed by architect Barry Byrne of Chicago in the Prairie School style of architecture.
 
“It is often called the first truly American architectural style,” Horka pointed out.
 
The building was completed in 1959 and the chapel was dedicated by Bishop Joseph Mueller under the patronage of Our Lady of Grace. The chaplain explained the name refers to Mary’s “close relationship with Christ her son and the salvation of the world by the Grace of God.” He noted that the design has been preserved for 67 years as it serves as a place of worship on campus.
 
The chapel is accessible to the public for private prayer, Mass and reconciliation while classes are in session, the campus minister said.

• Monday through Friday, the chapel is open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m.
• Morning prayer offered Monday through Thursday at 8:30 a.m.
• Eucharistic adoration begins at 5:45 p.m. Sundays
• Reconciliation is available at 6 p.m. on Sundays
• Mass begins at 7 p.m. on Sundays

 
There is also a small prayer garden dedicated to the Sisters of St. Francis, founders of the university, which is adjacent to the chapel. The prayer garden has a statue of St. Francis and St. Anthony.
 
Father Crotty and Horka are currently developing a special place for prayer in the chapel for the faithful to venerate a relic of St. Francis in the Our Lady of Grace Chapel.
 
Rockwell City 
Rockwell City’s St. Francis of Assisi Church is part of the Our Lady of the Plains Parish, based in Lake City. The current church was built in 1956 under Father Edward Fandell at a cost of $178,000. The church was refurbished in 1976 by Father Robert W. Phillips, with other improvements made to the structure over the years, according to the parish website.
 
Father Ross Caniglia is currently administrator of Our Lady of the Plains Parish and St. Francis of Assisi Church. The priest pointed out that the Prayer of St. Francis is one of his favorite prayers.
 

St. Francis of Assisi Church in Rockwell City

“Although this prayer was not written by St. Francis, I think it encapsulates his spirituality well - ‘Lord make me an instrument of your peace…’ In a world so torn apart by violence and discord, the example of St. Francis invites us to surrender control and allow the Lord to work through us,” he said.
 
Father Caniglia and his staff are happy to welcome visitors to the Rockwell City church as part of the year of St. Francis or at any time.
 
St. Francis of Assisi Church’s weekly schedule:

• Adoration is available on Tuesdays from 5 to 6 p.m. Reconciliation is also available at this time.
• Weekday Mass is offered at 7:30 a.m. on Wednesdays
• Weekend Mass is offered on Saturdays at 5:30 p.m.

 
“We are so blessed to have St. Francis in Rockwell City as a pilgrimage site for the Year of St. Francis. All are welcome to stop into our church to pray, along with attending Mass, adoration and/or confession,” he said. “It is my hope that those who enter into our church building will find a place of solace, responding to the Lord’s invitation to be his instrument of peace for others.”
 
Year of St. Francis
As the traditional feast day for the feast of St. Francis is in the fall, the director of worship said there is the potential for a larger celebration of the popular saint during this jubilee year.
 
“Oct. 4 falls on a Sunday during ordinary time, so at the very least, these two pilgrimage sites would be allowed to replace the ordinary time Sunday with a celebration of the feast day of St. Francis,” Father Galles explained, noting the Vatican may offer further direction in the coming months regarding the feast day.
 
Learn more at www.scdiocese.org/stfrancis

Jubilee year prayer
In his Jan. 10 summary bulletin from the Holy See Press Office, Pope Leo shared a prayer to be used by the faithful. The Office of Worship is printing prayer cards in English and Spanish along with the pilgrimage sites. The cards will soon be available at each diocesan parish.
 
“In this Year of Grace, I wish to offer you a prayer that St. Francis of Assisi may continue to instill in all of us perfect joy and harmony,” the Holy Father wrote.
 
HOME