On 8th December 2015 Holy Father Pope Francis opened the Holy Door in St. Peter’s Basilica, inaugurating the Jubilee of Mercy. The ceremony took place after he celebrated Mass for the Solemnity of the Immaculate Conception at St. Peter’s Square.

 

The rain did not keep the people away: Over fifty thousand arrived, including Pope Emeritus Benedict XVI, the President and Prime Minister of Italy, H.E. Sergio Mattarella and Hon. Matteo Renzi; as well as King Albert II of Belgium with Queen Paola.

 

Pope Francis, during his homily, highlighted the primacy of grace.

“Were sin the only thing that mattered, we would be the most desperate of creatures,” Pope Francis said. “But the promised triumph of Christ’s love enfolds everything in the Father’s mercy…The Immaculate Virgin stands before us as a privileged witness of this promise and its fulfilment.”

 

The Holy Father went on to say the Holy Year is “itself a gift of grace.”

“To pass through the Holy Door means to rediscover the infinite mercy of the Father who welcomes everyone and goes out personally to encounter each of them,” he continued.

 

Pope Francis concluded his homily by saying “as we pass through the Holy Door, we also want to remember another door, which fifty years ago the Fathers of the Second Vatican Council opened to the world.”

Pope Francis said the anniversary cannot be remembered only for the legacy of the Council’s documents, but must also remember the “encounter” which happened at the Council.

 

The Jubilee will continue this Sunday, when Pope Francis opens the Holy Door in his Cathedral, St. John Lateran, and bishops around the world open Holy Doors in their own Cathedrals, and other designated Churches.

 

We remind you that Pope Francis anticipated the Jubilee when He opened the Holy Door at the Cathedral of Bangui in the Central African Republic dring His last Apostolic Journey.