Popes and Jubilees: the opening of the Holy Door in history
Vatican News traces, starting with the Holy Year of 1900, some moments of the Holy Door opening ceremonies
(by Amedeo Lomonaco – Vatican City)
One of the symbolic images of every Jubilee is that of the Pontiff crossing the threshold of the Holy Door.
It is a snapshot that is firmly rooted, with deep roots, in the Middle Ages. The first pilgrim to cross the threshold is always the Bishop of Rome.
According to the description made in 1450 by Giovanni Rucellai da Viterbo, it was Pope Martin V in 1423 who opened, for the first time in the history of Jubilee years, the Holy Door. On that occasion the backdrop was that of the Basilica of St. John Lateran. In the Vatican Basilica the opening of the Holy Door is attested, for the first time, in Christmas 1499. Pope Alexander VI wanted it opened not only in St. John Lateran, but also in the other Roman basilicas.
“I am the door: if anyone enters through me, he will be saved; he will go in and out and find pasture” (From the Gospel according to John).”
The opening of the Holy Door
The Pope’s opening of the Holy Door marks the beginning of the Jubilee.
The Holy Year of 2025 that is about to open includes, after this rite, the celebration of Holy Mass, on the night of the Lord’s Christmas, inside the Vatican Basilica.
The wall sealing the Door from the inner side was dismantled in recent days and the metal box, which contained the key that allows the Door to be opened, was taken out. The Pope push.es its doors in a symbolic way and, for security reasons, the use of the hammer with which the brick diaphragm that once closed it on the outside of the Basilica was struck was abandoned.
After the rite presided over by the Pontiff, the Door remains open throughout the Year to allow pilgrims to pass through.
With this gesture, one can fully experience the indulgence associated with the Holy Year. Crossing this threshold also stands to signify that one’s journey of conversion is sealed by an encounter with Christ, the “Door” that unites us to the Father. Jubilees are part of a deep history of faith that opens its doors wide to the world.
A journey, in which the steps of the Pontiff join those of God’s people, on the paths of forgiveness. We retrace the Holy Years of the 20th century and the third millennium