Pope Francis plans to participate in twelve prominent events during the upcoming Jubilee of Mercy, from sending forth the Missionaries of Mercy on Ash Wednesday to hosting jubilees and a day-long period of Eucharistic Adoration.

CNA/EWTN News is reporting on the newly released schedule of events that will be held in Rome during the Jubilee year which begins on December 8, 2015, and ends on November 20, 2016, the Feast of Christ the King.

A highlight of the year will be a jubilee for Padre Pio’s prayer groups which will take place on Ash Wednesday. This event will feature exposition of the saint’s body in Saint Peter’s Basilica.

“The Holy Father expressed the wish that Padre Pio’s corpse be exposed in St. Peter’s Basilica on Ash Wednesday of the upcoming Extraordinary Holy Year, that is, the day when the Pope will send the missionaries of Mercy, giving them a special mandate to preach and hear confessions, so that they be a lively sign of how the Father welcomes those who seeks his pardon,” Archbishop Rino Fisichella, president of the Pontifical Council for Promoting the New Evangelization, wrote to Archbishop Michele Castoro of the Archdiocese of Manfredonia-Vieste-San Giovanni Rotondo.

Special events will also surround next year’s Divine Mercy Sunday which will take place on April 3. A jubilee of Divine Mercy spirituality will be celebrated during the Easter Octave from April 1-3 and include an April 2 prayer vigil with the Holy Father in St. Peter’s Square followed by Mass on Divine Mercy Sunday celebrated by Pope Francis.

According to CNA, other events include:

– A jubilee for pilgrimage workers to take place Jan. 19-21, 2016. It will start with an international gathering of pilgrimage workers together with priests, rectors, and staff of shrines. A Mass will be said Jan. 19 at the Basilica of St. John Lateran. The group will have a conference and catechesis the following day, with Eucharistic adoration and Confession, and a pilgrimage to the Holy Door. They will meet with Pope Francis Jan. 21 in Paul VI Hall.

– On the feast of the Chair of St. Peter, Feb. 22, the Pope will also celebrate a special jubilee for the Roman Curia, the Vatican Governatorate, and the institutions linked to the Holy See.

– A jubilee for teens will begin with an April 23 evening festival at Rome’s Olympic Stadium, followed by a Mass said by Pope Francis in St. Peter’s Square the following day. A worldwide jubilee for teens will take place at World Youth Day in Krakow, Poland from July 26-31.

– The jubilee of deacons will take place May 27-29, with conferences on their role as icons of mercy for the new evangelization in their families, parishes, and jobs. They will gather in Rome’s seven parishes named for St. Lawrence, and on May 28 will have Adoration, Confession, and pilgrimage to the Holy Door, then attend a Mass said by Pope Francis May 29.
– Priests will celebrate their jubilee June 1-3. The first day will be dedicated to Eucharistic Adoration, lectio divina, and confessions. The Holy Father will preach their spiritual retreat June 2, and June 3 will say Mass with them.

– The jubilee of the sick and disabled will occur June 10-12. The participants will gather in the jubilee churches, and from there they will go to the Holy Door. A celebration will be held in the gardens of Castel Sant’Angelo June 11, and a Mass in St. Peter’s Square with the Holy Father June 12.

– From Sept. 2-4 the volunteers of mercy will gather in Rome for catechesis and a Mass with Pope Francis.

– Catechists’ jubilee is scheduled Sept. 23-25. The first day, they will have the option of either visiting San Luigi dei Francesi to contemplate Caravaggio’s paintings of St. Matthew’s calling, inspiration, and martyrdom; or the Sistine Chapel to view salvation history through the ceiling painted by Michelangelo. The following day will see a catechesis on mercy in the jubilee churches and a prayer vigil at St. John Lateran, and Pope Francis will say Mass Sept. 25 in St. Peter’s Square.

– A Marian jubilee will be celebrated Oct. 7-9, which will gather delegates from Marian shrines across the world. Pope Francis will be present at the Oct. 8 prayer vigil, and say Mass Oct. 9.

In addition to these events, a March 4th penitential rite, known as 24 Hours for the Lord, will take place. A “Vigil to Dry Tears”, which is described as a vigil for all those who need consolation, will be held on May 5. Pope Francis will preside over both events.

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