The 2,000th anniversary of Jesus Christ’s salvific passion, death and resurrection in 2033 is set to receive the multi-year buildup befitting such an extraordinary occasion.

Ottawa will launch the RoadtoJubilee33 with the Pan American Confraternity Forum (PAC27) at TD Place Stadium from Sept. 2-5, 2027. More than 10,000 Catholics from across North, South and Central America and the Caribbean will gather as one to celebrate how many believers have come to know Jesus Christ through the intercession of His Mother Mary. The U.S. will host a similar event in 2030, three years before the climactic Jubilee event in Rome.

Following the opening blessing for the six-day Holy Family Pilgrimage Experience, Catholics on this journey will visit Notre Dame Cathedral Basilica in Ottawa, Cathedral Basilica of Notre-Dame de Québec and the shrines of Sainte-Anne-de-Beaupré near Quebec City, Our Lady of the Cape in Trois-Rivières and St. Joseph’s Oratory in Montreal. All featured spiritual destinations are along the St. Lawrence River and Rideau Canal waterways.                           

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Canada’s capital city as the backdrop for this liftoff celebration is historically fitting. Ottawa hosted the 1947 Marian Congress, a five-day celebration that culminated in Canada’s consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. This sacred assembly, 80 years later, is expected to mirror — both in look and feel — the 1947 event in many respects.

Dennis Girard, the co-founder of the Marian Devotional Movement (MDM) with his wife Angelina, is co-organizing PAC27 and the Holy Family Pilgrimage Experience at the forum’s conclusion. He underscored the need to venerate and emulate the Holy Family’s example.

“We’re living in times that compel us to turn to the Holy Family — and Mary in particular — for guidance on how to remain hopeful during challenging times, stand up for families and find spiritual strength and happiness,” Girard said.

The idea for PAC27 germinated from Girard connecting with Umberto Angeloni, the founder of the Pan-European Confraternity Forum. Angeloni had the notion of establishing a World Rosary on Oct. 7, 2024, in advance of the 2025 Jubilee Year. He sought North American contacts and was advised to reach out to Girard, who has led many Rosary prayer initiatives through the MDM.

Girard learned about the Pan-European Confraternity Forum during their conversation, and a North American iteration of that concept became rooted in his mind over the next couple of days while in adoration.

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An outline of the four days is already available on the jubilee33.org website.

Day one, Sept. 2, at the venue to be branded as Consecration Stadium during the four days, will feature a “Festival of Bishops” and the opening of attractions such as the Field of Shrines, Family End Zone, St. Carlo (Acutis) Way and Saint’s Station. Each of the first three evenings will wrap up with a film/conversation program.

A “Festival of Confraternities” animates day two of PAC 27. There will be an opening liturgy, first Friday devotions and an Encounter Ministries healing service.

Day three centres on a “Festival of Shrines.” The keynote event is an afterparty for World Youth Day Seoul 2027.

The final day, emulating the 1947 Marian Congress, is “Country Consecration Day.” The agenda includes a consecration service, a “Rosary Bowl” with Marian crowning, a blessing for the inaugural Holy Family Pilgrimage Experience and a Jubilee33 Journey Commissioning.

For Girard, it would be meaningful if PAC 27 could emulate the spiritual experience that unfolded at the 10th National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis in July 2024. He and his wife accompanied the Our Lady of the Cape Shrine to the summit.

“Being part of that environment for those numbers of days… you just felt like the whole world was Catholic and it was just beautiful,” said Girard. “It was a little slice of Heaven on Earth. So, we envision that certainly is what's going to be taking place here in Ottawa.”

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More details about PAC27 and RoadtoJubilee33 are expected to emerge following a leadership gathering in St. Louis during Labour Day weekend. Girard said an ecclesial document called the “St. Louis Document” will be developed “around this vision of bringing the world to Jesus through Mary by fostering collaboration amongst bishops, confraternities, shrines with movements and apostolates as a means of evangelization in the world.”                                         

To learn more, visit jubilee33.org/.