HANOVER -- The three seconds she spent admiring the bones of St. Francis were three of the most electrifying of Sister Joanne Schatzlein's life.

Sister Joanne, director of the Sisters of St. Francis of Assisi based in the Archdiocese of Milwaukee, went on a pilgrimage to Assisi in February in honor of the Jubilee Year of St. Francis, proclaimed by Pope Leo XIV in honor of the 800th anniversary of the saint's death. St. Francis's skeleton was put on display in a glass case for the occasion. Each pilgrim was allowed to see the bones for three seconds, allowing 1,500 people to view them each hour. Sister Joanne kissed her fingertips and placed them on the case.

"I was stunned, and I was paralyzed when I walked by," she said.

During the last week of April, Sister Joanne was at the Cardinal Cushing Centers in Hanover for a meeting. The Sisters of St. Francis founded the centers, which provide housing and education to children and adults with developmental disabilities, on land gifted to them by Cardinal Richard Cushing. Cardinal Cushing wanted to be buried on a hill overlooking the Centers, so he could watch over his beloved children for eternity. For his tomb, he arranged the construction of an exact replica of the Portiuncula Chapel in Assisi, the holiest site in Franciscan spirituality. The chapel remains open for regular adoration and rosary vigils.

"The importance of this chapel is right up there," Sister Joanne said, pointing to a carving above the chapel door, which showed Cardinal Cushing surrounded by children.

During the Jubilee Year of St. Francis, from Jan. 10, 2026, to Jan. 10, 2027, pilgrims who visit the Portiuncula Chapel, or any other church or shrine associated with St. Francis or the Franciscan Order, may receive a plenary indulgence. To receive the indulgence, pilgrims must pray at any church in the world that is named after or associated with St. Francis or the Franciscans, receive Holy Communion on the day of the visit, receive the Sacrament of Confession within eight days before or after visiting the church, and pray the Creed, the Our Father, the Hail Mary, and the Glory Be for the intentions of Pope Leo XIV.

The Portiuncula Chapel is looked after by the Sisters of St. Francis, Cardinal Cushing Centers staff, and a fraternity of Secular Franciscans based at Our Lady of the Angels Parish in Hanover. These Secular Franciscans are laypeople who have vowed to imitate St. Francis by living a life of prayer, service, and humility.

"I'm excited about the Jubilee because I think it gives people an opportunity to do a deep dive and learn about who St. Francis really was," said Secular Franciscan Lauren Lyman, secretary of Our Lady of the Angels' fraternity.

She said that many people think of St. Francis as "a nice garden statue" and nothing more.

"There is so much more to St. Francis than this," she said. "The Jubilee also draws attention to St. Francis's call to simplicity, peace, and honoring the dignity of the human person as part of God's creation. This is especially needed now in a time where we as Christians are faced with relativism, extreme self-individualism, material excess, artificial intelligence, and the pursuit of pleasure and convenience."

There are three parishes in the Archdiocese of Boston named after St. Francis: one in Braintree, one in Dracut, and one in Cambridge. There is also the St. Francis Chapel operated by the Oblates of the Virgin Mary in Boston's Prudential Center shopping mall. Oblate Father Jeremy Paulin, the chapel's director, is encouraging parishes, schools, OCIA classes, and Knights of Columbus to make group pilgrimages to the chapel to receive the indulgence and venerate the chapel's relic of St. Francis.

"In this time, this Jubilee of St. Francis couldn't have been more providentially arranged, because he was a man of peace, totally surrendered to God, little by little, totally abandoned to him and his providence," Father Paulin said. "Given the war in the Middle East, global troubles, and even the struggles within our own hearts, St. Francis is truly the best intercessor to pray to for help and guidance."

Churches, shrines, and chapels in the archdiocese staffed by Franciscans include St. Anthony Shrine in Downtown Boston and St. Leonard of Port Maurice Parish in the North End, staffed by the Order of Friars Minor; St. Patrick, St. Peter, and Holy Family Parishes in Dorchester and Roxbury, staffed by the Capuchins; the Chapel of Our Savior in Brockton's Westgate Mall, staffed by the Franciscan Friars of the Atonement; and the Holy Rosary Shrine in Lawrence, staffed by the Franciscans of the Poor Christ.

"I found in St. Francis and the whole Franciscan tradition a charism that fit my soul," said Franciscans of the Poor Christ Father Peter Giroux, rector of the Holy Rosary Shrine. "The focus is on the self-emptying of Jesus in the incarnation, the cross, and in the Holy Eucharist, yet recognizing the central role of Our Blessed Mother in God's plan."

The shrine plans to celebrate the Transitus, St. Francis's death and passage into Heaven, on Oct. 3, the eve of his feast. The shrine is also planning a pilgrimage to Savannah, Georgia, in celebration of the beatification of the Georgia Martyrs, five Spanish Franciscan missionaries who were killed while evangelizing to native peoples in what is now the state of Georgia.

"Francesco Bernardone sought worldly glory as a knight, but Our Lord turned his world upside down," Father Giroux said. "Seeking the lowest place, the Lord raised him up."