The Jubilee Year of Hope officially concluded in the Diocese of St. Augustine with a closing celebration Mass Jan. 5 at the Cathedral Basilica of St. Augustine.

In his homily, Bishop Erik Pohlmeier reflected on the call of Pope Leo XIV, who continued the yearlong jubilee begun under Pope Francis and opened the New Year by urging the world to be “disarmed and disarming.” Bishop Pohlmeier described this as the way Christ entered the world.

“It’s an extraordinary idea, because Jesus came as the conqueror of sin and death, yet he intentionally chose not to use the weapons of war or the human impulse to fight,” he said.

Bishop Pohlmeier encouraged the faithful to examine how they engage others in daily life. “Do we approach the people around us as disarmed, or do we tend toward aggression, expectation or demand?” he asked.

Hope was the unifying theme throughout the jubilee year, a focus the bishop said must continue beyond its formal close. Twenty-eight jubilee celebrations were held across the diocese in 2025, honoring groups within the Church, including young adults and missionaries, and marking significant moments in Church history, such as the 1,700th anniversary of the Council of Nicaea.

“We should be less concerned with what happens to us and more concerned with what happens to others,” Bishop Pohlmeier said. “Hope grows when we learn to see the world as the Lord calls us to see it.”