A church in Maryland will be one of 27 parishes benefiting from a new parish debt forgiveness programme instigated by the Archdiocese of Washington for the Jubilee Year of Mercy.
Fr Francisco Tovar, the new pastor at Our Lady of Sorrows Church in Takoma Park, Maryland, said he was "speechless, very much moved and grateful," on learning that the archdiocese would be forgiving $341,797 of his parish's debt.
"This parish really began anew because of this," Fr Tovar said, noting parishioners offered Washington Cardinal Donald Wuerl heartfelt applause to express their gratitude when the archbishop celebrated Mass there in early October.
