Cardinal Harvey opens the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls for the Jubilee

On Sunday 5 January 2025, at 10 am, on the eve of the Feast of the Epiphany, the Cardinal Archpriest, James Michael Harvey, presided over the rite of the Opening of the Holy Door of the Basilica of Saint Paul Outside the Walls, a rite which was introduced by the sound of the ram’s horn.

The Cardinal, after a moment of personal prayer, passed through the Holy Door and entered the Basilica to the sound of the Jubilee hymn. Mass was then celebrated in the presence of over 3,000 people. The event was the last of the openings of the four Holy Doors of the major papal basilicas of Rome, which began on 24 December 2024, with the opening, by Pope Francis, of the Holy Door of Saint Peter's Basilica.

“With the opening of the Holy Door, an act as simple as it is evocative,” the archpriest said during his Mass homily, “we have crossed the threshold of this sacred temple with immense joy because, in an emblematic way, we have crossed the door of hope.” Cardinal Harvey invited the faithful to grasp the opening of the Holy Door as a symbol of the passage to salvation offered by Christ: “Crossing this threshold with faith we enter the temple of mercy and forgiveness.”

In a period marked by “tragedies, wars and crises of various kinds,” the cardinal reiterated the importance of hope, defining it as “a certainty founded on the faithfulness of God, infused by Him and guaranteed by Himself.” Quoting Benedict XVI, in Spe Salvi, he added: “Even a difficult present moment can be lived well if it leads toward a safe destination.” Cardinal Harvey concluded by urging the faithful to live the Jubilee as a spiritual journey: “We joyfully welcome the Pope’s appeal to be sowers of hope, the most beautiful gift that the Church can offer to the world.”

At the end of the Mass, pilgrims began to pass through the Holy Door of St. Paul, and thus began the Jubilee pilgrimages to the tomb of the apostle Paul. To pass through the four Holy Doors of the major papal basilicas of Rome (St. Peter in the Vatican, St. John Lateran, St. Mary Major, St. Paul Outside the Walls) on pilgrimage, it is essential to book on the Jubilee website.