Pope Francis will open five Holy Doors at the Vatican in a long-standing catholic tradition and will introduce a never-before-seen ritual.
Every 25 years the pontiff opens five sacred doors to mark the jubilee year in the Catholic calendar. The tradition dates back to 1300 when it was decided it would be carried out every century, but that was later reduced to every 25 years.
The first time the Holy Doors of the four Roman basilicas were opened to mark the special tradition was in 1423, and they have been opened regularly since. However, 2025 marks another first as a symbolic door will be opened in a Roman prison, making it the fifth sacred portal.
The five sacred portals
The pope will begin the ritual to commence the year of jubilee on Christmas Eve when he will open the first sacred portal at the northeast entrance to St. Peter’s Basilica. The door was closed with bricks following the celebration of the Jubilee year of Divine Mercy in 2016, but the bricks were taken off the door on December 2 in preparation for the ritual.
The next one will be opened on December 26 when the pontiff will open the symbolic door at the Roman prison Rebibbia for the feast of St. Stephen.
“I think of prisoners who, deprived of their freedom, daily feel the harshness of detention and its restrictions, lack of affection, and, in more than a few cases, lack of respect,” said Pope Francis. “In order to offer prisoners a concrete sign of closeness, I would myself like to open a Holy Door in a prison, as a sign inviting prisoners to look to the future with hope and a renewed sense of confidence.”
On December 29, the Holy Door of the Basilica Saint John Lateran will be opened. Pope Francis is the bishop of this basilica.
On New Year’s Day, which is also the day of the Solemnity of Mary, the Holy Door will be opened at the Papal Basilica of Saint Mary Major in Rome.
The final sacred portal will be opened at the Papal Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls in Rome on January 5. On January 6, the Holy Doors will be shut with bricks once again to wait for the next jubilee.
The year of jubilee
The idea for the year of the jubilee dates back to the Old Testament. First mentioned in Leviticus 25, this special time only came around once every 50 years. After the completion of seven cycles of seven years, or 49 years, the following holy year was marked with the sounding of a ram’s horn trumpet.
The jubilee year was a year of atonement for the Israelites of the Old Testament. According to the Lord’s command, they were supposed to release all their servants and prisoners, forgive all debts, return property acquired from another to its rightful owner, rest as they did for the sabbath, and come home to their property if they were residing away from it.
“And you shall hallow the fiftieth year, and you shall proclaim liberty throughout the land to all its inhabitants,” the bible says in Leviticus 25:10. “It shall be a Jubilee for you: you shall return, every one of you, to your property and every one of you to your family.”
The tradition is also important in the New Testament and Christianity, as when he started his public ministry Jesus proclaimed that he was enacting the year of jubilee for the land of Israel.
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