Welcome to the Jubilee Museum and Catholic Cultural Center, located immediately west of and in sight of downtown Columbus, Ohio in the historic area known as Franklinton (founded 1797).
Ten years ago the Jubilee Museum began as a modest effort to prepare for the Jubilee Year 2000 and to display a few tokens of the history of the Diocese of Columbus. The four rooms at that time were thinly decorated with a few vestments, photos, books, and statues. Now ten years and twenty rooms later, we are crowded and greatly blessed. From the opening day things began to accelerate with countless donations, tours, and events, that it seems incomprehensible that a decade has passed since that opening.
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There is an interesting quality to our many collections; they are the voices of the past. We can’t speak to this world after we die and even recordings are a bit of an artificial memory of our words and events. A more eloquent voice that speaks to the meaning of our lives is the good we do for others in the Name of Christ and the testament we leave in our earthly goods which speak of our faith, hope, and charity.
Several years ago I went to Assisi and saw the habit of St. Francis. It did not appear to have any patches; it seemed to be literally made of patches. You could not determine what parts (if any) might have constituted the original tunic. How loudly it speaks after nearly eight centuries of his beloved companion, Sister Poverty.
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The well-worn breviaries and Bibles, and even oddities as common as shoeshine kits of two former bishops tell stories of simple life and faith. Many tokens of closed institutions
and pioneer Catholics are still speaking and sharing the story of faith, hard times, success, failure and the hand of Divine Providence surrounding it all.
Sometimes a stark contrast is seen by the placement of our treasures. In one case there stands a ciborium used at Gettysburg, and in front of it, two bullets from the same war. The symbols of violence and peace sit there, reminding the viewer of reconciliation, the price of freedom and in the ciborium, the price of our salvation.
Another display holds a Eucharistic Lantern from Good Samaritan Hospital in Zanesville, Ohio. When priests would come to bring Holy Communion in the hospital, they would be preceded by a type of sanctuary lamp, and the sound of a small bell. When the Blessed Sacrament would pass through the halls, nurses, doctors, and patients alike would stop what they were doing out of respect for our Lord. Some would even make an act of adoration in the hospital hallway. These tokens of our religious patrimony are meant to be preserved and handed down to future generations Catholics.
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The museum has been blessed with tremendous gifts beyond the time limits and geographic boundaries of the Diocese of Columbus. Our collection of over seventy Latin Mass missals (Missale Romanum) date back to 1607 through 1962, and were printed all over Europe and the United States. Centuries old Eucharistic vessels and vestments from the Holy Land, which were often gifts of the royal houses of Europe also make up the permanent collection. Manuscripts and Bibles dating back to the late 1400s and 1500s are on display in several rooms as well. Personal collections of several canonized saints, habits, and countless church appointments are displayed throughout the twenty exhibit rooms and halls.
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You are welcome to take the tour. There is much to see. Tours are arranged for individuals as well as groups. At present, there is no charge, but donations are welcome to fund our efforts to rescue and preserve our patrimony. Please consider making a tax-deductible contribution to the mission of the Jubilee Museum and Catholic Cultural Center to continue this important effort.
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The Lord be with you!
Father Kevin F. Lutz
The Jubilee Museum celebrates its tenth year anniversary this year: 1998-2008. No one (especially Fr. Lutz, our founder) could have imagined ten years ago that the museum would have grown to become what it is today. What began as a modest attempt to prepare for the Jubilee Year 2000 has become the largest Catholic museum of diversified Catholic artwork in the United States.
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