Thousands of pilgrims have lined up waiting to enter St. Peter’s Square for the opening of the Holy Door with Pope Francis, marking the beginning of the 2025 Jubilee. Tonight, the Lord’s Christmas Mass will be held in the basilica.
Faithful waiting in line for the opening of the Holy Door at St. Peter’s
The 2025 Jubilee begins today, with Pope Francis opening the first Holy Door at St. Peter’s to inaugurate the Holy Year. Since early this morning, there have been countless pilgrims in line, with queues growing as the hours pass. The faithful waiting to enter the colonnade of St. Peter’s Square and pass through security checks brave the cold and wind that have been raging in Rome for days.
At the Angelica Gate, for example, there is excitement among the faithful, well wrapped in scarves, hats, gloves, and some food to face the long day. They are enthusiastic and emotional. Everything is ready in the city for the start of the 2025 Jubilee, which will see the arrival of millions of pilgrims. The main basilicas have planned jubilee pilgrimage walks, moments of prayer, opportunities for confession, and Eucharistic celebrations.
How the ceremony of opening the Holy Door unfolds
The ceremony of the Holy Door takes place with a solemn rite presided over by Pope Francis. The celebration is set to begin around 6:30 pm. The Pontiff gathers the pilgrims in an initial moment of prayer, followed by the solemn opening of the Holy Door of St. Peter’s Basilica. Before that, there is the reading of biblical prophecies and invocations for the birth of the Savior.
Pope Francis approaches the Holy Door and begins the “Ritus Ianuae Sanctae Apriendae”, the ritual of opening the Holy Door, recited in Latin. The Pope crosses the threshold first as the vicar of Christ inside the basilica to preside over the Christmas Eve Mass. He is followed by a procession of cardinals, bishops, and co-celebrating priests, as well as representatives from the five continents.
People can participate in the celebration from St. Peter’s Square, where large screens have been set up for the occasion. The Holy Door is open and visitable for anyone starting from tomorrow, December 25, Christmas Day. The faithful can go on pilgrimage to it until its closure on January 6, 2026, when the Jubilee ends.
The ceremony’s booklet
The booklet of the Holy Door opening ceremony that marks the start of the 2025 Jubilee and the Christmas Eve Mass of the Lord is available online on the website. “Now is the time for a new Jubilee, to once again open wide the Holy Door to offer the living experience of God’s love, which awakens in the heart the certain hope of salvation in Christ” (Spes non confundit, n. 6). This is how Pope Francis describes the ritual gesture that inaugurates the Jubilee Year.
