Distribution of coins to encourage people to share stories of hope during Jubilee Year
In response to Pope Francis’ call for a Jubilee Year of Hope, Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis launched a Pilgrims of Hope Challenge Coin.
The yearlong awareness campaign to spread encouragement and hope throughout the archdiocese was inspired by the Jubilee Year and Catholic Charities’ mission of serving others in need, president and CEO Jared Bryson said.
“As an organization built on healing, help and hope, Catholic Charities felt particularly moved to respond to the Holy Father’s call for the Year of Hope,” Bryson said. “Launching this initiative on Ash Wednesday is especially meaningful to us as Catholics, as it marks the beginning of Lent, a season of reflection, renewal and living out our faith in action.”
As part of the campaign, Catholic Charities is distributing “Spread Hope” coins, which are meant to be shared with others as a reminder of the good happening in the community. Each coin is engraved with the words “Spread Hope” and features a QR code that links to a website spreadhopestl.com, where visitors may share their experiences and read stories from others who have witnessed acts of generosity and hope.
Here’s how it works:
• Participants are encouraged to share a coin with someone they observe acting with generosity or compassion. The giver of the coin is encouraged to share what they witnessed on the Pilgrims of Hope website.
• For those who have received a Challenge Coin, it means someone recognized how you gave them hope and wanted to celebrate your impact. Recipients are encouraged to pass along the coin to someone else whom they see acting with generosity or compassion.
Participants are encouraged to use the hashtag #pilgrimsofhope on social media. Additional coins are available through Catholic Charities for those who wish to continue spreading hope.
The Pilgrims of Hope Challenge Coin is part of a yearlong movement that includes hours of service, pilgrimage sites and community events, Bryson said. The website will include information on other upcoming events Catholic Charities is planning during the Jubilee Year, including pilgrimage days of recollection and a day of service.
Pope Francis has called all of us to be pilgrims of hope during the Jubilee Year, Bryson said. “The hope that we focus on is the life, death and resurrection of Jesus — our hope. Every act that rises hope in our own lives can point us to the ultimate hope of Jesus.”
In a world filled with division, being pilgrims of hope allows us to come together, encounter each other and build community with one another, he said. The Challenge Coin is a simple way of sharing the good news with others.
Christians must “abound in hope” to be credible witnesses of God’s love, Pope Francis wrote in the document announcing the Jubilee Year of Hope for 2025. “Hope is born of love and based on the love springing from the pierced heart of Jesus upon the cross,” he wrote. “In the heart of each person, hope dwells as the desire and expectation of good things to come, despite our not knowing what the future may bring. For all of us, may the Jubilee be an opportunity to be renewed in hope.”
“It’s a good time that the Holy Father has called for this Jubilee Year to be a year of hope,” Bryson said. Coming out of a pandemic and having gone through All Things New in the archdiocese, “some parts of our community are still grieving and finding new life … and trying to find ourselves in a new place. It’s being able to talk about evangelization and a new way to engage folks.”
Where to find Challenge Coins
• Catholic Charities of the Archdiocese of St. Louis, 4445 Lindell Blvd. in St. Louis
• Cardinal Rigali Center, 20 Archbishop May Drive in Shrewsbury
• Coins will be available at these parishes: Annunciation, Annunziata, Ascension, Cathedral Basilica of Saint Louis, Christ the King, Holy Infant, Holy Redeemer, Holy Spirit, Immacolata, Incarnate Word, Mary Queen of Peace, Our Lady of Lourdes in University City, Our Lady of the Pillar, Our Lady of Providence, Sacred Heart in Florissant, St. Alban Roe, St. Anselm, St. Clement of Rome, St. Gabriel the Archangel, St. Gerard Majella, Ste. Genevieve du Bois, St. Joseph in Clayton, St. Joseph in Cottleville, St. Joseph in Imperial, St. Monica and St. Peter in Kirkwood
Learn more at spreadhopestl.com.
