2026 marks the 800th anniversary of St Francis of Assisi’s death in 1226.
Pope Leo XIV declared that it will be a special Year of St Francis in which we are all called to become saints in our world, following St Francis’ example. We are called to model a holiness of life and witness to peace
Pope Leo has said:
“This Year of St Francis spurs all of us, each according to our possibilities to imitate the poor man of Assisi, to form ourselves as far as possible on the model of Christ… may the hope that has seen us as pilgrims now be transformed into zeal and fervour of active charity.”
The Year runs from 10 January 2026, the closing of the Jubilee Year “Pilgrims of Hope”, until 10 January 2027.
St Mary’s celebrate the Feast Day of St Francis – Monday 5th October 2026
On Monday 5th October, we celebrated the Feast of St Francis of Assisi, marking the 800th anniversary of his death and Pope Leo’s Year of St Francis. The day began with a beautiful Celebration of the Word, led by our Messengers of Christ and Eco Team, inspired by St Francis’ message of peace, simplicity, care for creation and love for all people.
As a whole school, we transformed an area of our grounds into a special St Francis Garden, adding a new statue, bird table, bird feeders, plants and animal figures contributed by each class. Pupils also made class pledges in support of Pope Leo’s Year of St Francis, committing themselves to being peacemakers, caring for God’s creation and showing kindness and service to others in their daily lives.
Once again, we were pleased to welcome Deacon Michael, who blessed the garden, the new additions and photos of our family pets. Sr Jacqueline and her Mother Superior, who was visiting from Africa, also joined us for this joyful celebration. A beautiful display celebrating St Francis has been created in our dining hall, inspiring us to follow his example of peace, compassion and care for our common home.
Inspired in prayer by St Francis
This year, our school prayer journey is inspired by the life and example of St Francis of Assisi. St Francis showed a deep love for God, care for creation and compassion for all people. Through prayer, reflection and action, we will explore a different Franciscan virtue each month, helping us to grow as disciples of Jesus.
Our monthly themes encourage us to live out Gospel values in our daily lives:
Jubilee Year -2025
On 24th December 2024, to officially launch the Jubilee year, which only occurs every 25 years, Pope Francis opened the usually bricked up Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica- ‘Porta Sancta’ in the Vatican, and was the first ‘pilgrim of hope’ to pass through the door. Pope Francis tells us that ‘hope does not disappoint’ and asks us all to be signs of hope for others by caring for our common home and by supporting our brothers and sisters who are experiencing war, hunger or poverty.
The theme of our new year whole school staff-led Mass (Jan 25) was hope, and all the readings, prayers and hymns were specially selected to help us focus on how we can be pilgrims of hope this year. The official launch of the Jubilee Year for children took place on 24th January and this began our year of striving to share Jesus’ mission to spread peace, love and hope as a St Mary’s family through our words and actions.
Our Launch day poster
We have created our own Holy Doors which go into our special sacred space for school gatherings- our school hall. As we leave our hall, we go forth and spread love, peace and joy to all those we meet- as St Mary’s Pilgrims of Hope.
Click on the video to find out about the Jubilee Year 2025