On August 2, 2026, hundreds of faithful gathered at the Senhor do Bonfim Shrine in Santo André, State of São Paulo, Brazil, to receive the plenary indulgence of the Pardon of Assisi.
This grace, which our Seraphic Father St. Francis obtained and asked the Church to extend to all the faithful, springs from the experience of forgiveness. Francis of Assisi was a man fully reconciled with God, with his brothers and sisters, and with creation. On this day, the Church celebrated the mercy of God, who never grows tired of forgiving. As Pope Francis reminds us: “God’s mercy is for everyone. Let us not forget this: God’s mercy is for everyone, for each one of us” (Pope Francis, Homily, January 22, 2023).
As part of the Franciscan Jubilee Year, the day also included the dedication of the Senhor do Bonfim Shrine Church.
The celebration began with the church shrouded in near darkness. Following the Rite of Dedication, the interior was gradually illuminated during the liturgy. In his homily, the Most Reverend Pedro Carlos CIPOLLINI, Bishop of Santo André, stated: “The Church is the house where God awaits us. It is the place where we celebrate the sacraments. Dedicating a church means remembering that we, too, are ‘living stones.’ The building is sacred and becomes even more sacred with the people, the living temple of the Holy Spirit.”
He then anointed the altar and, with the assistance of the Minister Provincial of the Province of St. Francis in Brazil, Friar José Hugo da Silva SANTOS, went on to anoint the twelve columns supporting the church’s dome—a symbol of the twelve Apostles upon whom the Church is built—thus consecrating the church to God forever.
Others attending the solemn liturgy included the Assistant General for the Federación América Latina Conventuales (FALC), Friar Rogério PEREIRA XAVIER; the Pastor and Rector of the Shrine, Friar Carlos Alberto DE QUEIROZ; the Parochial Vicar, Friar Avedis BARBOSA; friars from the local fraternity; and several representatives of the State of São Paulo. Also present were the Rector of the Postulancy Program, Friar Antônio Felipe de Oliveira ZAGO, together with the men in formation, diocesan priests, permanent deacons, diocesan seminarians studying theology, and hundreds of faithful.
Through the intercession of St. Francis, St. Clare, and Our Lady of the Angels, may this Shrine always be a refuge of mercy and a place of encounter with God for all who enter it.
Friar Reinaldo Azevedo DA SILVA, Vocation Minister
